Yorkshire’s beautiful Brimham Rocks was the venue for round five5 of the ACU Belle Trailers Youth National series. Coincidentally, also the home of the first OSET Cup trial nine years ago offering up many great memories of 25 novice riders getting the trials bug!
It was fitting that this venue saw a 100% OSET entry in the D small wheels class and all but one previous D Class OSET champion rode this National. The very first National Champion on an OSET was Henry Stephenson, who is now well up the order in the B class, while the following year the battle was between Harry Turner and Harry Hemingway… a battle that is still going on – now at the top of the B Class!
As predicted in the report from the last National, Tom Gibbons had every result other than a win, and was due his turn. Lo and behold, Tom had a great ride at Brimham and won on a mere six points for the day. It was tight at the top, and the sections were a bit too simple to allow recoveries from fiasco’s, so it was a game of keeping the riders on track and focussed.
Second place on 8 points was round 3 winner Bobby Crabtree. The Isle of Man’s Jacob Wilson has had two wins this year, and took third on the day on 10. Northern Ireland’s Mason Crawford is still in touch after a fourth place. A poor first lap left him with too much to do. It’s tight at the top, and the Championship is possible for any of these four riders. The next two rounds in Scotland may clarify the favourite?
In the C Medium wheel class Elliot Smith on his 24.0 Jr continued his winning ways. The first two laps did not go his way, and he entered the final lap two points behind the Isle of Man’s Stanley Cubbon. Stanley went 16, 14, 14 for a total of 44. Elliot’s first two laps cost 32, and he set a target of a sub 8 for the final to get himself back on top. Elliot looked at every section again, worked it all out, and went round for an astonishing 3 points. A fantastic lap, which put him 9 points clear of Stanley at the finish. A real achievement for Elliot, and one that gives him a strong lead in the Championship with 4 wins and a second from 5 events.
Next up is a double header at the Bob Macgregor Academy in Scotland on July 27-28.
