Dean Partington wins Yorkshire Dales

Julian Lack was back in his familiar Liege and finished one position behind Dean

Northern Trial organiser Myke Pocock struggles for grip crossing the stream at the foot of Watergate.

Although this years Yorkshire Dales was held in good weather there had been a lot of rain during the week and some of the sections were ultra competitive. The first section Watergate proved very challenging with water being dragged up the section. Clerk of the Course John Rhodes made the difficult decision to cancel the hill to reduce delays so early in the event as it was taking a lot of time for failures to clear the section.

Andrew Dams had the misfortune to break a driveshaft on Watergate 1, the first section, and recorded some Video while waiting for rescue. Unfortunately the section had to be cancelled as it was taking to long to clear failures from the section.

Peels Wood was just before lunch and Dean Partington was leading the trial with the only clean sheet in his DP Falcon. That was to change here as Class 8 had the very steep deviation and none could find enough grip to get back to the main track. It wasn’t an easy section for the lower classes but the main contenders managed a clear.

So at lunch local Mark Busfield led the trial on 5 followed by fellow local Brian Colman in the infamous “Yellow Dutton” and Julian Lack back in his Liege after a few outing in his recently acquired Class 8.

There had been several retirements including Simon Woodall as his Buggy’s engine wasn’t running properly and Michael Gibson who had hit a rock in his Midget.

Peels Wood was very slippery this year and none of the Class Eights could get clear of their deviation.

Brimham Lodge is an established Yorkshire Dales section. It’s all about grip, especially in the lower reaches and it took its toll with only five cars going clear. Dean Partington was one of these, putting him in the lead of the trial which he held to the finish.

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One thought on “Dean Partington wins Yorkshire Dales”

  1. The difficulties encountered at Watergate one, that led to long queues and therefore taking up time, meant that the marshals would not have been available for their later sections so first it was decided to send only 7s & 8s up and all others to bypass it. We would try to resolve the situation where some competitors had done 20 sections whilst others had done only 19, after the event. This proved impossible to calculate fairly so the section was scrubbed from the results.
    All being well, it could be our final section next year so will not cause the hold-up again.
    It is too early to say what next year will bring but we have many good ideas to consider. Nothing to change the whole flavour of the trial but a few subtle adjustments to avoid the now obvious pitfalls that may occur.
    Peel’s wood needs thought because it is a satisfying section for all classes but the approach when wet is difficult. How did competitors like the new start position? It was much lower down the awkward hillside in order to give a better run at the gateway but it was a lot softer due to the rain than usual. Similarly, did you appreciate the long track after Dry Gill and the other like a narrow Roman road? We have used other similar tracks but cannot get permission for them again, we won’t stop trying though.
    John Rhodes.

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