2007 U.S. High School Trials Champion Alex Bedley rode the Youth class this weekend, assisted by his able minder, Charlie Roberts. Both Alex and Charlie work here at the Trials Training Center (TTC).
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After every Trials World Championship event, a team of FIM officials (the jury) meets with the local organizers to discuss all aspects of the event and give feedback. The photo is from today’s meeting. Click to enlarge. Update 4/28: L to R in the photo: Danilo Galeazzi, Francois St. Laurent (interpreter), Jean-Marc Crumiere, Wiltz Wagner, Beland Wagner, Steve Ahlers, Brian Behling, ??, Jordi Pratt, Miguel Cerrera, Dan Brown, Chuck Weir I blogged about the origins of the Wagner Cup yesterday but failed to mention that the winner is determined by the lowest score over the combined two days of competition.
Championship Class Junior Class Youth Class Day 2 complete results at Trials Central. 10 PM update: The FIM has complete results for both days posted, too. I parked myself at Section 12 at the end of the day and got a few good shots of Fujigas, Albert Cabestany, and Toni Bou. See the album of 10 photos or this slideshow.
Teams of observers (4-5 on a team) again checked each of today’s 15 sections. Some teams were the same as yesterday but many were new. I got around to sections 9-13. See the album of 25 photos or this slideshow:
Once again, Andy Greig at Trials Central has the Day 2 results for all classes posted.
Gary Hoover, a member of the local Southeastern Trials Riders Association (STRA), is the Head Course Marshall for the event, recruiting and supervising the observers. Gary’s lip curl is evidently helpful in crowd control situations, just like that other boy from Tennessee. The rocky stream beds with high hillsides provide natural, amphitheater-type seating areas for spectators.
Views of Sections 14 and 15 behind the cabins. There are a dozen or men and women from the press here covering the event.
FIM rules allow the press to be in the enclosure area in the sections, the space between the white section tape and the yellow outer tape marking the crowd boundary. We’re given orange bibs so the riders don’t mistake us for dumb rocks.
As the left handlebar hit the ground, it snapped the clutch lever and sent it spinning 20 feet or more into the air with a loud ‘ping.’ This spectator yelled out "I got it" and made a one-handed catch, earning a loud roar of approval from the assembled crowd. (Apologies for the fuzzy photo… I had to zoom way in.)
The most active web site for motorcycle trials on the planet is Trials Central in the U.K. The man who makes it all happen: Andy Greig.
L to R: Pat Smage, Cody Webb, Louise Forsley, and Sara Duke. The big ledge out of the creek in Section four took a huge number of points from the Championship class riders yesterday. Here’s a 4-minute video clip of loop 1 rides by Cabestany (2 points), Raga (5), Bou (1), and Fujinami (1). Fuji nearly runs over his minder on the ledge… and nearly loses it on the big rock at the exit.
8 am update: I’ve got a glitch with this video clip. Will fix ASAP! 10:15 am update: I’ve fixed the video but now we’ve got a slow internet connection and I can’t get it uploaded. Will fix when I get back mid-afternoon. Apologies! 2:35 pm update: The upload finally went through and the video should now be viewable. Thanks for your patience! I’ve changed the timestamp on a few of the blog entries that I posted last night so that they more closely approximate the order that the events occurred.
The Wagner Cup has been part of all world championship trials events held in North America since 1975. The cup is named for Wiltz Wagner, a founding member of the North American Trials Council (NATC). Wiltz is widely considered to be “the father of American motorcycle trials.” He was inducted into the NATC Hall of Fame in 2005 (comprehensive background). See more about Wiltz on the Rocky Mountain Trials Association history page. That’s Wiltz in the photo, second from left in the blue shirt, out on the loop today with Martin Belair (red shirt), Roger Ansell (right), and Roger’s wife (left). The Wagner Cup, which features four bighorn sheep, is kept permanently at the American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) headquarters in Ohio. The name of every North American world-round winner since 1975 is engraved on the cup. Wiltz’s was also a physician and professor. He was the Vergil K. Stoelting Professor of Anesthesia at Indiana University from 1995-2005.
I didn’t take many action shots today but of those I did, here are my favorite four:
Left: Takahisa Fuginami Here are a couple dozen photos from today’s podium ceremony. Included are photos I used in the previous blog posts on the winners. See the album or this slideshow:
Results for Day 1 in the Championship class: 1. Takahisa Fujinami – 12
The rest of the Championship results: 4. Adam Raga – 30 |
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