Every trialler knows about the MCC’s ‘Big Three’ trials (the Cold One, the Long One, and the Rough One, to quote Peter Jones of MG fame) and the Sporting Trial (the precursor to the modern Edinburgh); and those with a reasonable knowledge of MCC History will have heard of the Spring Trial (1980 and 1981…
Where is it? – #6
UPDATE – 29 August 2023 This photograph is now confirmed as Eric Kay (of Cheltenham), with Howard Homer as passenger, on Lyn Hill (near Barbrook, North Devon). The photograph was taken on 16th April 1949 during the MCC’s 29th Land’s End Trial. I have to thank Roger Wrapson, of the Riley Register, for the information…
Theme updated
The more observant of you will notice that I have ‘refreshed’ the appearance of this website with an updated theme. I have also removed the header images to reduce the amount of scrolling necessary before the content text becomes visible. The layout and navigation are both unchanged.
Trials Trivia #4 – Troll Miscellany
Peter James drives the T4, JOD 980, up Norman’s Hump (we think) on an Exeter Trial sometime in the late 1980s. With thanks to Mark Milne for providing the photograph. During the course of creating the original Troll T6 page I had a lot of correspondence from Peter James and David Alderson about the other…
Trials Trivia #3 – Scoring system history
Does anyone know when the 12 > 0 scoring system became the standard for trials? I’ve posted this question on the HSTA Facebook page quite recently, but am re-posting here, with updates, in the hope of reaching a wider audience. I know that the concept of sub-dividing sections was introduced in the late 1930s for…
Trials Trivia #2 – Chiltern Hills Trophy Trial 1952
Mark Milne has recently posted this wonderful video on the HSTA Facebook page: https://player.bfi.org.uk/free/film/watch-chiltern-hills-trials-1952-online?fbclid=IwAR0rTEYQqKoEa1E7jOMEL-g5ItSc-ZeUonncRtT163e-6aM0Cw1haJGktGs Rather amazingly, I have some of the paperwork for this event, now posted here: Entry List / Route Card / Results.
Trials Events Database updated
I’ve just published a new printout from the Trials Events Database, updated to include: a lot of updated information for events in the 1970s and 1980s; all the documents available for most trials in 2022 to date; and all the provisional dates for events in 2023. View/Read the printout.
Top Triallers are deserting the MCC …
… but does it matter? Ever since the ACTC Championship was first created, nearly 40 years ago, the three MCC events have been classed as Bonus Rounds, acknowledging that they have a very different character (and scoring system) to the typical One-Day ACTC Championship trial. The two styles of event also attract somewhat different demographics:…
Trials Trivia #1 – Allen Trial Results
It’s current trials folklore that Bristol Motor Club’s Allen Trial is always won on Special Test times because every year a number of competitors finish with a ‘clean sheet’. During last Sunday’s Kyrle Trial Dave Haizelden reminded me that there had been 30 ‘cleans’ on the 2021 Allen, and Pete Hart said that he thought…
Some historical notes on the route of the 2022 Edinburgh
Readers might be interested in some of the history behind the sections to be used for the 2022 MCC Edinburgh Trial: Haven Hill. First used in 2005 and used every year that the Edinburgh has run since then. It replaced Agnes Meadow (used 1994 to 2003) and/or Wigber Low (used 1999 to 2009) as the…