OVER the years, Knighton has been associated with some big-entry motorcycle trials hosting the National Victory Trial for around 40 years and the exceedingly popular Knighton Two-Day Trial back in the eighties, writes E A Bates.

Sunday saw some 120 competitors for the first Central Wales Auto Club’s Long Lap Trial starting in the Teme Valley near Dutlas. The course featured two ride outs on the surrounding hills periodically interrupted by some observed sections.

The overall winner on the expert course was North Berkshire club member, Brett Harbud, who won from his fellow club members, Tom Plant nad Thomas O’Sullivan.

It was a much tighter contest on the intermediate class with top seven positions separated by only four marks.

It was so tight that the top three tied on three marks and was only separated by the furthest clean with Carmarthen’s Wayne Jones being the victor from Darowen’s Meilyr Evans in second and Dan Bishop in third.

Oswestry’s Dan Hinton came in fourth, followed by Stafford’s Ben Rolls with South Walian Liam Phillips sixth. Swansea’s Ashton Dugay topped the youth intermediate class from Old Radnor’s Marvin Brookes with Charlie Crabtree third.

Meanwhile, Hampshire’s Andrew Kilbey won the Clubman class by just losing one mark from Devon’s Wayne Vincent and Adam Kilbey third. Veteran competitor and ex Welsh trials champion in the 1970s, Mold’s Mike Leddy came fifth and Oswestry’s Kevin Ellis in seventh. Andrew Ball won the Clubman over 40 class and Stefan Williams won the Youth Clubman class.

In the Sportsman class, ex British Expert Sidecar Enduro champion Alistair Nevill came out on top by just one mark from Tom Plant who came second on 14 after a nailbiter of a tie breaker with Alistair’s daughter Amberley Nevill, who had to settle for third place.