The Scottish Six Days Trial which takes place on 7-12 May, 2018 was massively oversubscribed with 510 entrants for 280 places.
Given the excellent weather at the 2017 event, the organisers braced themselves for a bumper entry and it certainly lived up to that expectation.
Entrants began to be informed on Wednesday 27th December if they were successful or not by e-mail.
The organisers have a hard job when it comes to administrating the initial entries, but SSDT Secretary, Mieke de Vos told Trials Guru: “Unsuccessful entrants shouldn’t take it personally and we always have an attrition rate of around 10% pre-trial with 25 to 30 entrants dropping out for various reasons. We run the ballot to be as fair as we can, but as everyone knows we cannot fit 510 into 280, it’s as simple as that”.
Entrants are urged to check their e-mail spam filters to make sure that contact has been made, but please be patient and follow the instructions issued by the SSDT carefully. Please do not contact the organisers until after 1st January 2018.
Comedian, Ross Noble completed the 2017 event with mentor Jamie Burroughs, the event was featured in the three part television programme ‘Ross Noble : Off Road’ on ‘Dave’ channel in the December – Photo: Trials Guru 2017
Whilst Trials Guru is all about trials, we sometimes deviate ‘off piste’ and this was one of those moments we were asked to promote Classic Motocross. We were happy to oblige, especially when the Special Guest is Brad Lackey, 1982 500cc World Motocross Champion from the USA who will be flying in for this unique event in South-West Scotland on 14/15 July 2018 – ‘Racing at the Castle’ ~ The Drumlanrig Castle Scottish Classic Grand National Motocross.
Since it’s launch in 2014 Trials Guru has used the same layout throughout, but the time was right to have a little refresh using the same platform. The layout is a little different, but the content remains the same, it’s all about trial!
We hope that you enjoy the refresh, but it’s still TRIALS GURU – Dedicated to the Sport!
Trials Guru has been very fortunate to be able to showcase the work of C.H. Wood M.B.E of Shipley. Images from the 1930s courtesy of his son, David Wood a film-maker in his own right and a motorcycle enthusiast.
Yorkshire Centre Team Trial 1939 – Photo: C.H. Wood
South-West Trials enthusiast, Mike Naish has prepared a tribute to Ivan Pridham:
Ivan Alfred James Pridham 1931-2017
It is with much sadness we report the death of Ivan Pridham, he was 86 years young.
Ivan was a long standing stalwart of the South West Centre, a man who has had much success in Trials both locally and nationally, many before some readers were born. He was a rider who has represented his city in International sport and supported a handicap children’s charitable trust. He has carried on in his chosen sport for most of his life with humour, enthusiasm and good nature and who was a popular rider to boot.
Born at Latchley near Gunnislake in Cornwall, he moved to Plymouth when he was fifteen years of age. He did his National Service in the Royal Engineers when he was twenty-one, so that he could finish his apprenticeship with a small lift company which later in life he bought and made it into a business.
Ivan suffered latterly with a bad back that needed surgery after falling down a lift shaft and the operation did curtail some of his riding but he bore the pain stoically, at least to the outside.
Our thoughts are with his wife Pat, daughter Wendy and family at this time.
Ivan’s funeral will take place at St. Mary’s Church, Market Road, Plympton, PL7 1QW on Wednesday 20th December at 1-45 pm.
St. Mary’s Church can be found by taking the road from the Marsh Mills junction towards Plympton (the old A38), the church is situated just off the roundabout.
The creator of the definitive bike-sport movie of all time, ‘On Any Sunday’, Bruce Brown has died aged 80 years on Sunday, 10 December 2017.
He was born on 1st December 1937 in San Francisco, California, but was raised in Southern California.
His first real film of note was ‘Endless Summer’ which captured the life-style of surfers. Brown was himself a keen board surfer. It was released in 1966 with ‘On Any Sunday’ released five years later, in 1971. The film followed many riders and motorcycle sports in the 1970 season in both the USA and Europe.
Footage of the International Six Days Trial (now ISDE) was shot at El Escorial, near Madrid, Spain and featured American, Malcolm Smith, the famous desert racer and off-road competitor who also featured in the Baja desert races in the film.
Brown was fortunate to enlist the services of Steve McQueen, a motorcycle enthusiast and racer as well as being an A-list movie star.
McQueen was the central character in the film and it showed that he wasn’t just playing at it either, which enabled him to gain even more respect in the world’s off-road motorcycling community.
But it was Brown’s talent as a movie-maker that was the real shining star. He didn’t have any formal training or education on film-making, but his slow motion filming or riders at speed was a revelation in documentary style films for the time. Brown acknowledged that his lack of formal training probably worked to his advantage as his innovative style was unconventional for the period.
It is thought that his film brought more people into motorcycle sport, not only in the USA, but anywhere the movie was screened.
Trials Guru’s John Moffat was at an early screening near Edinburgh, Scotland in 1971 aged thirteen years and said: “I was completely blown away by ‘On Any Sunday’, I had never seen anything like it previously and although by that time I had a motorcycle, it really captivated me. I remember the theme tune going through my head after watching it. In fact I can still hear it to this day, having bought a video cassette and then a DVD version of the film in more recent years. My sons have been brought up as kids watching it as infants and I believe my Grand-daughter has even been known to watch it too.”
Bernie Schreiber who featured in the remake, ‘On Any Sunday II’ said: “It is sad, I loved Bruce’s film ‘Endless Summer’. 2017 has not been a good year for legends.”
‘On Any Sunday’ covered almost every aspect of motorcycle competition from road racing, motocross, trials, enduro, dirt track, mile (long track), ice-racing and desert racing.
The soundtrack was specially scored by Dominic Frontiere, the American composer, which gave terrific atmosphere to the movie.
Carlos Casas (Montesa 4RT) – Photo: Trial Magazine UK
Short video presented by TRIALS GURU on Carlos Casas, the ‘SSDT Ambassador’.
For many years Carlos has enthused about the Scottish Six Days Trial to Spanish and Catalan competitors that this has ensured a healthy interest in the event.
TRIALS GURU - DEDICATED TO TRIAL 