* Denotes newcomer

John Tucks into first course

Some might say the opening round of the 2007 British Sidecar Trials championship the Andy Smith Trophy Trial went against expectations – but the clever money would have bet on John Tuck & Matt Sparkes continuing where they finished off the 2006 series - in dominant form. With the no-show of reigning champs Robin & Gill Morewood all eyes turned to the master Robin Luscombe & regular passenger Les Ashby to take up the mantle. Tuck & Sparkes however had other ideas. With fantastic weather greeting the 27 crews on a crisp sunny morning the battle was on. Emerging clean from Knock Froy after the opening 4 subs Luscombe/Ashby where showing the old form with Tuck/Sparkes 2 down. On to Glen Lough & again Luscombe/Ashby held the 2 mark margin with both crews dropping a single dab on the 6 muddy bank & stream hazards. The trend continued up Ballavitchell river with both crews dropping 3 on the final of 3 tricky subs. Into Kingsforrest & 10 subs to really test the metal, the tables quickly turned here with Luscy/Ashby dropping 2 very costly fives, the first on a long steep hill climb & the second on a slippery tree route riddled climb observed by Dave Megson, Tuck/Sparkes emerged with a 2 & a fantastic clean here. Luscy’s mistake let in Jamie Teare & John Charker who where the only crews to clean the first climb to rapturous applause. At the punch card change Luscy’s challenge had all but fizzled out with another costly 5 on the last in Kingsforrest dropping him into 3rd on 25 behind the 2 much younger crews of Tuck/Sparkes on 17 who were being chased hard by Teare/Charker on 18. On to new ground at Cooilingel & 5 tough tests saw Teare/Charker slip to within grasp of Luscy/Asbly only to have the brand new Knight Scorpa breakdown & force them to retire. With 4 more subs at Old Stoney Mountain Quarry, 2 at Ballachrink & returning to the Peveril clubs headquarters at Knock Froy for the final group the battle was all but won. A final hazard in the carpark over some fallen tree trunks saw Robin & Les drop another 5 in the final 2 yards to finish some 13 marks behind John & Matt who must now be firm favourites to break the 2 Robin’s 20 year dominance. John & Matt commented later that they “thoroughly enjoyed the event which was made all the sweeter of course by winning” & felt that “the route had been fantastic & the sections spot on” They are now looking forward to a very long year under a lot of pressure… Lucy commented in the bar afterwards that it was a fair result but he felt he would be closer to the mark next time out after getting more used to the very different power delivery of the newly mapped Montesa motor – Robin & Les will be missing the 2nd round, the DK Mansell as Robin is on a company trip, but is confident he can win a few rounds this year.
The newly introduced Masters class was poorly supported with only 4 crews choosing to enter, having to ride half of the 38 sections on the Expert route & the rest on the clubman route. Clerk of the course nominated the clubman route on the middle 19 subs in Kingsforrest, Cooilingel & Old Stoney. At halfway Lee Granby & Amelia Haigh had a very slight 1 mark lead over Adrian Beal & Jane Birchall the later crew with a costly stop under the gaze of observer Ian Baxter Ross in the closing stages of the first card. Beale/Birchall turned up the wick in the second half to return 10 fewer marks & take the win on 60 to Granby/Haighs 69. Young Sam Luscombe finished 3rd in the chair for Amelia’s dad Ali Haigh although some 30 marks down.
The clubman class was won by the relative newcomers Father & Son pairing of Peter & Daryl Dale from the Southern Centre finishing 10 marks in front of leading local crew Martyn Kissack & Nigel Woods who snatched 3rd from veteran Mick Treagus & stand in passenger Steve Gould also making the long journey up from the South Coast. Peter & Daryl held a slender 1 mark advantage at the punch card change over Treagus/Gould who had a further 1 mark advantage over Kissack/Woods. Treagus/Gould actually pipped Kizzy/Woodsie by 2 on observation only to receive 5 penalty points for starting 5 minutes late – that will teach him to get up in the morning… The clubman route proved to be too difficult & the club recognise that with the introduction of the “Master” class the decision not to ease the clubman route was on reflection the wrong one. The Newcomers class was won by local pairing if David Jeff & Matt Swales & slotting into a very creditable 6th place overall in the clubman class. The club decided to run twin shock solos over the two sidecar routes designated simply as Hard & Easy classes & Steve Collins emerged victorious from Neil Christian after the demise of 3 of the fancied runners Nigel Crellin, Wayne Wardell & Damien Owen, all suffering from mechanical difficulties. The Easy class was won by Tom Sharkey from his dad Howard & Geoff Cannell in third. Clerk of the course Andy Birchall would like to thank all landowners, officials & any one else who helped make this a very successful event & recognises that without them the event would not have taken place.