Wye Valley Trial

Date: 29th June 2008

The Wye Valley Car Trial hosted the annual Inter-Association team trial as well as many championships resulting in the best entry of the year. Clerk of Course Simon Harris recieved a very healthy entry, and was even happier when inundated by marshalls as well.

Overall the top three were covered by less than one percent, with Steve Courts winning for the second event running. Second overall was Barrie Parker, from Duncan Stephens. All classes were ultra close with the class leaders changing all day.

In class one, for modern cars there was a three-way battle between Nick Pollitt in the "BTRDA® Drive" Micra, Derek Barnes and Les Andrew. Les eventually won the class by a single mark from Nick.

In class two Parker, Stephens, Roland Uglow and Neil Mackay were all covered by three marks at lunch. During the afternoon the former two gradually moved ahead continuing to be separated by just a single point. Roland finished eight marks further back, with Neil another three behind. This was Roland's first experience of Car Trials (PCT's) despite been a very experienced Sporting Trialler secretly admitted to been nervous at the start with so many sporting triallers watching! He did let the side down though, with four in the top five overall.

In class three Steve Courts slowly opened out a decisive class lead over Dave Oliver and Nigel Weeks, to win the class by five. Howard Blackwell had a very good day in his Suzuki, benefiting from its latest developments.

Class four was led at lunch by Nigel Green in his Classic Trials Mk 1 Escort, but Tim Lakin stamped his authority on the class in the afternoon to win by five marks also.

Seven association teams were entered with two from the West Midlands, Central Southern, South West and a Northern too. With three drivers counting and no more than one previous champion. The South West team of Parker, Stephens and Lakin won clearly from the second South West team with the best West Midlands team third. It is the second time the South West have won in six years, with West Midlands winning every other time in the last eighteen years.

Overall:

1 Steve Courts (Hillman Imp) 79.8%; 2 Barrie Parker (VW Scirocco) 80.1%; 3 Duncan Stephens (Vauxhall Nova) 80.9%; 4 Dave Oliver (Hillman Imp) 86.8%; 5 Roland Uglow (Vauxhall Nova) 87.4%; 6 Neil Mackay (Fiat Panda) 89.8%; 7 Tim Lakin (Marlin) 97.3%; 8 Les Andrew (Citreon AX) 98.7%; 9 Nick Pollitt (Nissan Micra) 99.4%; 10 Carl Talbot (Fiat Panda) 99.5%

TEAMS:

1 South West 1 (Barrie Parker, Tim Lakin, Duncan Stephens) 258.3%; 2 South West 2 (Bill Moffatt, Nigel Weeks, Carl Talbot) 314.4%; 3 West Midland 1 (Dave Oliver, Derek Barnes, Charlotte Lakin) 356.2%; 4 Central Southern 2 (Colin Read, Howard Blackwell, Colin Weeks) 389.3%; 5 North (Les Andrew, Rupert North, Mark Halls) 411.1%; 6 Central Southern 1 (Jay Grossmith, Dave Harvey, Michael Weeks) 438.1%; 7 West Midlands 2 Retired.

Barrie Parker