ACU TRS UK British Sidecar Trials Championship • Sport Luke Golding & Sam Tuck (TRRS)
SIDECAR
STRONG START Normandy MCC hosted the first round of the ACU TRS UK British Sidecar Trials Championship, The Ray Thomas Sidecar Trial, at Dunsfold in Surrey. The trial was unusually dry, with little of the typical mud and water, but the 18 sections, with some ‘stiffened up’ for lap two, still took marks off all of the healthy entry of 28 crews spread across four classes. Article: Andy Withers
EXPERTS
With the 2022 champions Jon Tuck and Matt Sparkes having retired, seven crews representing all of the major trials marques vied for the Expert crown, including the first electric entry into the ACU British Sidecar Championship Neil and Michael Franks, whose EM Epure Race outfit created a lot of interest. However, TRRS-mounted Luke Golding, paired with Sam Tuck, cleaned the first lap with Luke’s brother Josh coaching the pair all the way round; they were one ahead of Isle of Man pair Jack Corlett and James Howe on the GASGAS and four ahead of 2022 Intermediate champions Steve and Izzy Saunders. Lap two didn’t start well for the Saunders pair, with a five on the ‘rocky’ section one, which started an expensive lap of 21, giving them fourth overall. With the sections ‘stiffened’, lap two scores were generally higher, but Nigel and Gracie Mae Scott lost just two until the final two sections when a five and a dab left them on eight, still three less than the first lap and enough for third. Jack Corlett and Jamie Howe finished second with two fives and a three on the modified section seven, where the norm was to drop to the bottom of the valley before blasting back up to the next set of flags. Luke Golding and Sam Tuck took a different approach here, ‘floating’ along the side of the camber with the sidecar wheel in the air. They still dropped two in maintaining their balance, but it was certainly exciting to watch! For the eighth year running, the Ray Thomas Trophy headed back to Bristol; the last six years with Jon Tuck and Matt Sparkes, and in 2023, with Luke Golding and Sam Tuck. RESULTS 1: Luke Golding/Sam Tuck (TRRS) 4; 2: Jack Corlett/ James Howe (GASAGAS)15; 3: Nigel/Gracie-Mae Scott (Beta) 19; 4: Steve/Izzy Saunders (TRRS) 25; 5: Neil/Michael Franks (EM) 59; 6: Jake Pope/Luke Thomas (Sherco) 62.
Trial Magazine • April-May 2023
Steve & Izzy Saunders (TRRS)
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