Anyone with any interesting Sprite motorcycles that fancy having them on display at the Telford Off-Road show on February 15/16 2020, should contact Stephen Hipkin on: ste2hip@gmail.com
Rob Edwards 1945 – 2019
It is with a heavy heart that we announce the passing of former factory Cotton and Montesa trials rider, Rob Edwards at the age of 73 years. He slipped away peacefully in the afternoon of Sunday 6th October 2019.
His widow, Bev was at his side and she told Trials Guru’s John Moffat that he “… smiled and was happy right to the end”. This is a fitting tribute to a man who won the hearts of trials enthusiasts the world over.
Born in Thornaby-On-Tees in December 1945, his father was a trials enthusiast and Rob’s great ambition as a small boy was to become a professional trials rider, which he achieved in 1969 when he signed a contract to ride for Montesa, the Spanish motorcycle manufacturer. Edwards became the world-wide brand ambassador and was a pioneer of ‘trials schools’ which also assisted in the promotion of the Montesa Cota trials machine.
Rob’s life as a professional trials rider was told exclusively to Trials Guru in 2014, but it almost didn’t happen.
John Moffat explains: “Having known Rob for quite a few years, I met up with him and Bev at the 2014 Centenary Scott Trial and suggested that we did his life story on this website. Rob said that no-one would be interested, to which I replied that he was totally wrong as many people were eager to read about his career. Within a few days after the event, we started exchanging e-mails at a rapid rate, accumulating all the information, facts, figures and anicdotes to compile the ‘Rob Edward’s Story’ on Trials Guru. I am really glad we Rob’s story as it was all in his own words and recollections and will remain online to preserve his memory for future generations of trials enthusiasts.”
Rob Edward’s funeral will taken place on Monday 21st October 2019 at 11.45 am at St Hilda’s Chapel, Teesside Crematorium, Acklam Road, Middlesbrough TS5 7HD. Donations in aid of charities will be taken for Richmond Motor Club (Yorks) Ltd.
Trials Guru conveys sincere condolences to Rob’s widow, Bev Edwards at this difficult time. It is thankful that we were privileged to be able to showcase Rob Edward’s story to the world during his lifetime, something that brought him great pleasure knowing he had so many followers of his career in the sport of trials world-wide.
The full story of Rob Edwards life as a trials rider can be found HERE
Main photo: Copyright Eric Kitchen
SSDT make changes for 2020
Report: Trials Guru
Photos: Trials UK Media
With the announcement by the government that next year’s May bank holiday will be moved back by four days for the whole of the UK to coincide with the 75th anniversary of V.E. Day, the Scottish Six Days Trial will be making some changes to the traditional Monday and Friday routes, given that spectators won’t have a Monday holiday to take in the first day’s action.
‘May Day’ is traditionally held on a Monday, but will be put back to Friday, 8th May 2020.
V.E. Day, or ‘Victory in Europe’ Day, marks the day towards the end of World War 2 when fighting against Nazi Germany came to an end in Europe.
The May Day bank holiday has been moved only once before. It was changed from 1 May to 8 May in 1995 to mark the 50th anniversary of V.E. Day.
The Scottish Six Days will start on Monday 4th and finish on Saturday, 9th May 2020.
No details are available at the moment, as it will require very careful negotiations with land owners and government agencies from where permissions are sought for the trial to pass over private ground.
The routes will appear in the Official SSDT Programme which goes on sale from Monday, 20th April 2020 at local shops and fuel stations throughout Lochaber.
There will also be route details released on the official SSDT website nearer the event, so that those travelling up from the south will know where to catch the action.
The first of a series of monthly SSDT committee meetings to plan for the 2020 event took place in September.
SSDT History: HERE
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New Decal?
We are thinking about a new decal for Trials Guru promotion. It will incorporate the logo, but with a slogan to the right, making a slightly larger decal. What suggestions for the slogan? Let us know by private message. Our attempt is: “Trialsguru.net – We Like Motorcycles”
Great Scott 2019
The annual time and observation Scott Trial takes place on Saturday, 12th October this year, starting on the usual start field at Feldom Lane, near Richmond on the Reeth to Marske road.
Following on from the devastating floods in July, some old sections have been swept away and new sections have been ripped into the landscape, many taken down to bed rock, so there will be some changes to the normal Scott route.
Ken Wallis, the hard working trial secretary spoke to Trials Guru: “The area has suffered this summer with the extensive flooding, but we are well supported by the landowners and there are still a few entry places left, so contact me now on: 07703222147”.
Provisional List of Riders 2019:
It could be that some riders thought that the event would not be run because of the flooding, but matters have been put in hand in Swaledale and it’s all systems go for the big day on 12th October.
Proceeds from the sale of the official Scott Trial programme will once again go to the local Scott charities, the publication costs £5.00.
More on the Scott Trial: HERE
Trials Guru Upgrade
We have recently upgraded Trials Guru so that it is reached either by http://www.trialsguru.com or now, http://www.trialsguru.net
Either link will take you to Trials Guru website, the premier trials website which records all sectors of trials for posterity.
John Little, Scotland’s Enduro Supremo
JOHN LITTLE 13th May 1935 – 8th September 2019
It is with great sadness that we report the passing of John Little, former trials and enduro rider who had suffered two dibilitating strokes recently and slipped away peacefully on Sunday, 8th September 2019, aged 84 years.
John was originally from Edinburgh, but made his home at Elgin, Moray in the 1980s with his wife Eileen.
Father of top Scottish enduro rider Derek Little, John or Johnny as he was also known was a prime mover in the Grampian MCC and Elgin Enduro clubs with his friend Gilbert Rae. He was a passionate supporter of both trials and enduros.
He rode in the 1973 International Six Days Trial in the USA at Dalton, Massachusetts on a 169cc Greeves Pathfinder enduro, then switching to Laverda for the 1974 ISDT and finally Husqvarna machinery. John was a regular competitor in the Welsh Three Day Trial.
He was life-long friends with Jimmy Ballantyne who also died earlier this year.
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After retiring from active competition, Little took up support work for the Scottish ACU ISDE teams along with friend Ballantyne.
John Little also served on the SACU Enduro committee and was presented with a Lifetime Achievement award by the SACU management some years ago.
Trials Guru’s John Moffat said: “I have known John Little for well over 50 years. He was one of those people who rode competitively for many years, but put more into the sport than he took out. He worked tirelessly for the sport and encouraged many riders to take up enduro racing, that included myself. It was Johnny that insisted that I try my hand at enduros and I was grateful for his encouragement. I spent time in his company in 1976 at the ISDT in Austria and it was then as an 18 year old that I realised how helpful he was in supporting the Scottish ACU riders in that event. He had the ability to talk to anyone, of any age and his enthusiasm was infectious. He told me many times that motorcycling was a ‘disease’, to which there is no cure.
John was a true enthusiast, he rode trials, enduros and road bikes, he restored and prepared machines to a very high standard. There are many stories I could tell which involved Johnny, but this, for me, isn’t the time. I will miss his enthusiasm, I will miss his friendship. Johnny Little was one of the good guys.”
John’s funeral will be held on Friday 13th September 2019 at 2.30pm at William Watson Funeral Directors, 17 Blackfriars Road, Elgin, IV30 1TY – all welcome to attend.
Our sincere condolences go to the Little family at this difficult time.
Devil’s Staircase feature
Fans and followers of the annual Scottish Six Days Trial will know of the old section called ‘Devil’s Staircase’ at Kinlochmoidart on the shores of Loch Moidart in the Scottish Highlands. It was for many years a spectator heavy section and regarded as a terror section by many competitors.
Tern Television has continued their series for BBC ONE Scotland entitled ‘Grand Tours of Scotland’s Lochs – series 3’ with their presenter Paul Murton and they have filmed at the Devil’s Staircase this year. We will learn a bit about the sections history and the local history of what is known as the ‘Coffin Road’.
Programme 3 covers from Loch Moidart to Loch Ailort, it is the third in the new series of programmes, which goes out on Monday 16th September, 2019 at 19.30 GMT on the new BBC ONE Scotland channel. It will also be available on BBC iPlayer after the initial transmission.
The section was first used in 1936 and wasn’t cleaned until three years later. It was used up until the late 1980s and then again once in 2011 for the Centenary SSDT.
Keep an eye out for Trials Guru’s John Moffat in this edition!
Link to BBC website: HERE
BBC iplayer: HERE
Scott Trial 2019 – latest news
The Scott Trial preparations are well underway.
As the trialing world now knows, the Yorkshire dales where the Scott Trial is held has been devastated by recent floods. The streams which host the sections have expanded from six feet wide to forty feet wide in some places, causing the landscape to change considerably.
Lots of the usual gullys have changed, streams and becks now run in different courses and hillsides have effectively ‘moved’. Richmond Motor Club’s Scott Trial Committee have had their August meeting and have agreed that this year’s event will run as usual.
So now is the time to put your pen to entry form and get it posted so you can ride a bag full of new sections and new routes with the best in Britain. Entries are as always on a first come basis and remember in the past few years, there has been up to thirty entries on the waiting list, so please don’t delay.
As always your entry fee and kind donations throughout the event will go directly to local Scott charities and to supporting the Dales as they try to get back to some normality.
Download you entry form at www.richmondmotorclub.com.
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