Category: Exmoor

Duncan Stephens and Neil O’Connor take Exmoor Wins

This years Exmoor trial proved a little easier than Clerk of the Course Chris Barham would have liked although the two sections in the Holdridge woodland proved too much for all but a few.

Duncan Stephens won the car category. Pictured on High Bray by Vince Feeney
Neil O’Connor was best bike (Photo by Peter Browne)

The car entry was dominated by Class Eight and a particularly strong Beetle entry spread across classes Four and Six.

Competitive sections kicked off at Porte Farm with three sections. The second of these proved particularly challenging. Most of the solos and all the outfits went clean, but it was a different story when the cars came along.

Outside of Class Eight 0nly Keith Sanders (Reliant Scimitar SS), Ray Ferguson and John Early (Lieges) and Brian Hampson in his X90 emerged from the complex with clean sheets.

The second section at Porte Farm shattered the dream of a clean sheet for most competitors. (VidCap from Steven Price)

The middle part of the trial was mostly smooth sailing, but then came High Bray, the usual highlight of the Exmoor Trial.

Steven Price on the resurfaced High Bray (Photo by Peter Browne)
Vince Feeney captured Andy Beveridge on High Bray. Most of the outfits were based on Enduro chassis in Class D2. Andy was in D1 meaning the chair can be detached.

There was a solo bike-only section called Walscott just before High Bray, which stopped all of the smaller-engined Class B bikes. Then came the famous hill itself. The section looked very different this year. The local authority had resurfaced it as part of a byway improvement program. It still stopped a few bikes, but all the cars sailed up.

There were two sections in the Holdridge woodland, and these were to prove decisive for the cars. Only Duncan Stephens, Paul Merson, and Arnie Martin emerged clean, all in rear-engined Class Eights.

Ray Ferguson dominated Class 7, dropping only four marks and finishing fourth overall, passengered on this occasion by experienced trailer and fellow Liege owner Trevor Wood. Photo by Vince Feeney on Floyds Bank

Floyds Bank was the penultimate section and proved as competitive as ever, providing entertainment for the usual spectators. It didn’t stop the three leading Class Eights, and they were to finish the event with clean sheets. That meant the overall results would be decided by the time of the only special test. Dean Partington had been fastest there, but he had dropped points on the observed sections. That meant the win went to Duncan Stephens, followed by Paul Merson and Arnie Martin.

Neil O’Connor was fastest of the two Solos on zero marks. Steve Urell and Julie Williams were the best of a well supported class of outfits.

InCar with Steven Price. The video is from Steven Price’s excellent SlippingClutches91 You Tube Channel

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Updates

(1) added 20 Feb 2025

We have been publishing stuff about Classic Trials on the Web since 1995 and always appreciate feedback. Comments, Corrections, Criticism & Concerns are all welcome. You can leave a comment to have your say here on this web site or our Social Media

Narrow Exmoor Win for Paul Merson

Paul and Zara Crane had a narrow win in the familiar Shopland Mk2 from Tom Walker and Tom Jones who were also in Class Eight. Guy Winsor was best Solo

Paul Merson and Zara Crane had a narrow win, equal on points with Tom Walkers Toyota engined Leige but coming out on top on test times. Photo by Paul Morris Photography where you can find more

North Devon Motor Club had good weather for the Exmoor Trial starting near Barnstable. It proved a tough trial for the lower car classes and only Class Eight came out with scores under twenty.

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Exmoor win for Jack Selwood

Jack Selwood restarting on Stoodleigh Steep. Photo by Peter Browne

Class Eight was a dual between two very different cars. Jack Selwood was in the historic DP Ford, a lightweight Front Engined RWD with 1500 pre-crossflow power. Roger Teagle had his rear engined UVA Fugitive with a two litre motor.

The two were neck and neck all day but it was Jack who found the extra grip on a leafy Holdridge Hill where he got to the four.

This wasn’t the best performance on Holdridge Hill though. Phillip Thomas climbed one mark further than Jack in his Melos but lost the overall win after dropping ten on High Bray.

There were three Solo clean sheets, Colin Nichols taking the win on the tests. Martin Keswick/Josh Cook just pipped Steve Urell/Julie Williams for the Outfit award.

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Full Provisional ResultsDownload

We have been publishing stuff about Classic Trials on the Web since 1995 and always appreciate feedback. Comments, Corrections, Criticism & Concerns are all welcome. You can leave a comment to have your say here on this web site or our Social Media

Ryan’s Exmoor Trial

Exmoor Motorcycle Winner Ryan Eamer tells us about his bike and his trial

Ryan concentrates as he sets up the B40 to round a tight bend on Riverton on his way to winning this years Exmoor Trial. Photo by Paul Morris Motorsport Photography. Click Here for more of Pauls work

Ryan Eamer has achieved a unique feat, winning an ACTC round on both four and two wheels. Having won the Cotswold Clouds in his Cannon Ryan has followed this with wins on the last years Tarka and now the Exmoor Trial on his 350cc BSA B40.

More on the bike in a minute. Meanwhile Ryan tells us about his Exmoor.

Trial was really good, first group of 3 sections at Porte farm were a nice start to the trial, nice little Bike deviation on the 2nd one and a tricky little restart and the 3rd which caught a few out. I understand these got a little difficult once the cars arrived!

Simon Jones captures Ryan Eamer working hard to get away from the Bulls Bank restart on his way to winning the 2018 Cotswold Clouds
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Younger Generation Dominate Exmoor

The honours went to Josh Moss and Ryan Eamer, both from trialling families

Josh Moss and Phil Tucker glide round the Riverton hairpin on their way to their Exmoor win. Photo by Paul Morris Motorsport Photography

This years Exmoor was a challenging event with Class Eight filling the first five places amongst the cars.

Norton Selwood was at High Bray to capture the action.

High Bray was particularly challenging. The right hand side of the track was significantly eroded so there was a considerable camber tending to pull those on three or four wheels towards the bank.

Amongst the restarters all the Class Eight cars were successful but none of the Class Sevens went clean.

Norton Selwood got to Floyds Bank in time to see the lower classes attempt the section. 6, 7 and 8 attempted the deviation to the right just after the start.

Floyds Bank was another tough section. Clerk of the Course Chris Barham found the old section with the ruts had gone so had to mark out a new track. Josh Moss and Paul Merson were the only cleans amongst the 6, 7 and 8’s after which the difficult bit at the bottom was bypassed which allowed the lower classes to at least see section ends even though none of them got there!

Ryan Eamer was the best motorcycle, like Josh Moss Ryan comes from a trialling family. Click Here for more on Ryans Exmoor. Photo by Paul Morris Motorsport Photography

Ryan Eamer only dropped three marks on his 350 BSA to score his second win from riding two ACTC trials.

Steve Urel and Julie Williams were best outfit.

Links :-

Full Provisional ResultsDownload

We have been publishing stuff about Classic Trials on the Web since 1995 and always appreciate feedback. Comments, Corrections, Criticism & Concerns are all welcome. You can leave a comment to have your say here on this web site or our Social Media

Our Exmoor Adventure

By Winston & Patrick Teague & Tarka Daal the Curry Coloured MGB

Photo by Paul Morris Motorsport Photograhy. Click Here for more of Pauls Exmoor Photos 

Our journey to Sunday’s Exmoor began with a chance encounter on the Classic Trials Facebook. Brian Osbourn mentioned a decaying MGB in Tenbury Wells. We are outside Tenbury so Patrick (15) and I were intrigued….a question on the post, a bit of wondering, and a clumsy answerphone message at home from Simon Woodhall, and we were in the doghouse (again). We arrived home after a school run to ‘have you something to tell me?’ From the ever tolerant and (usually) forgiving Mrs T…….

We bought it, of course, though it didn’t seem to include sills……a few weeks of frantic bursts of fettling, in between bouts of outsourced welding with a target of Exeter-Clee Hills-Lands End.

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Merson Victorious on the Exmoor Trial

It was Charlie Merson in his Ford Special doing the winning this time, not Paul in the Shopland, who had to settle for second

Charlie Merson successfully restarting on High Bray to take the Premier Car Award on the Exmoor Trial. Photo by Chris Barham. More photos from Chris Bikes and Cars

Chris Barham and his team worked hard to get this years Exmoor Trial on the road, rescheduling because of Covid and having to battle all the issues running an event at this difficult time involves. They were rewarded by an excellent entry of 60 to do battle with the dry sections in North Devon.

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Exmoor Trial

Andy Petherick and Paul Merson take the top honours.

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Arnie Martin had Simon Groves directing operations from the back seat along with their third generation trialer (Photo by Becey Macey)

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Exmoor Trial

Paul Merson overcame the slippery conditions for first overall in the cars. Guy Windsor was best motorcycle

Some Video by Martin Hitchcott, Chris Bonnett, James Smith and Norton Selwood

The organisers were challenged by the severe weather in the weeks preceding the event. They nearly lost the finish venue when it was threatened by floods and Hurscott had to be cancelled. Water had come cascading down the hill, eroding the lane so much it left a very deep ditch to one side of the track.

They had to make some other adjustments but come the day competitors were delighted with the trial. Paul Merson dominated class eight and was best car overall dropping ten marks. Keith Sanders was second in his Scimitar, dropping 15 marks, with Stuart Highwood third in his Marlin on 16, one better than David Haizelden with his Scimitar.

In the motorcycles Kathy Martin was best in Class B1 on Humphery the Honda.

In Car with Mark and James Smith

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Exmoor Trial

Keith Sanders and Jon Hustwayte triumphed after overcoming the humps and bumps of High Bray

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Jon Hustwayte concentrates on High Bray on his way to a Motorcycle Overall Win (Photo by Duncan Stephens at http://www.donutphotography.com )

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