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Richard Maddern and Christopher Barnicoat were best Outfit
Tarka winner and last years Pouncey League Champion John Reeves on Badgers Last Stand. Photo by Margaret Critchlow
North Devon Motor Clubs Chris Barham and his team had worked hard to put on a trial with a challenging mix of sections with surfaces ranging from rocks to mud.
The leading solos went clean until Holdridge Stream, the tenth section which was bypassed by the outfits, where John Reeves was the only clean. John maintained this lead to take the win over Andy Foot and Andrew Kearns.
Best Outfit Richard Maddern and Christopher Barnicoat concentrate as they surmount a bump on Badgers Last Stand. Photo by Margaret Critchlow
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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.
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.
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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.
Dave Middleditch reports on his first experience as a Sidecar Passenger
Photo by Peter Browne
Last year we spent the week of October half term visiting sections for the Land’s End. As my services were no longer required, it was a full week of surfing at Croyde, but I noticed that the Tarka Trial takes place on the last Sunday. As a car driver, that’s not an option…. or is it? I passengered for Andy Abraham in a very last minute pairing for the Edinburgh ’22, so gave him a call to see if he’d like to come all the way down for the Tarka and I’d passenger for him on the KTM 660 Outfit. He agreed, so after a Saturday spent mostly in the pub avoiding the rain, so arrived at the start in Bideford as first bike away, and with me having had precisely zero experience of riding a Chair! £20 ACU licence obtained and a borrowed set of boots and helmet from Andy, and we were on our way.
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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After the challenges of 2021’s Tarka Trial, I tried my best to make this years trial a more enjoyable event with a range of sections rideable even if the weather gods decided to drop copious amounts of rain on us. True to form it rained! Solidly for the best part of the morning in fact. The trial though, went smoothly without any sections becoming mud baths.
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!
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Peter Browne tackled a very wet Tarka Trial on his Triumph Metisse
Peter taking the high line on Snapper, rather hoping he doesn’t drop his heavy bike on the slippery rock (Photo by Tom Nicholls)Results, links etc to follow
Having enjoyed a gloriously sunny Tamar Trial a few weeks before, my brother Neil and I decided to enter the Tarka on our 650 Triumph Metisses. I was conscious that the weather forecast for the 31st was not good but took comfort from the fact that the forecast is very often wrong but in this instance that did not prove to be the case.
It was already raining heavily when I woke at 4.30am and continued as I loaded my bike onto the trailer and headed off on already flooded roads to collect my brother and his machine.
By the time we reached Bideford we had seen so much rain and passed through so many floods it was clear that we would not be having an easy day and were beginning to doubt the wisdom of using such heavy machines but we had already passed the point of no return.
The start was at Tapeley Park and fortunately the rain stopped as we arrived there. Scrutineering and Signing On were dealt with very efficiently and we were ready to start on time.
The first four sections were in the Tapeley Park Estate woods and were predictably very slippery on the wet leaves and tree roots and gave me the first taste of what would prove to be much pushing throughout the day. I did manage one clean but it was a good deal later in the day before I managed another.
Ryan Eamer and his BSA are looking very clean in Tapley Park Woods
Riding with my brother Neil and our friend Andy Petherick on his 350 BSA we left the woods for a few miles of road work to section 5, Stony Cross.
This was a loose stony climb in a narrow lane with what looked like a stream running down it which lubricated the stones very effectively.
A few miles further on was Section 6 which started as a partly submerged farm lane with the water becoming increasingly deeper until the tractor wheel tracks disappeared leaving you to guess or discover where they were as the water continued to deepen with it eventually coming over the top of my boots with my feet on the footrests. I remember my brother saying he was fearful that it would reach his handlebars at one point.
The start of Section 6 Emett. The water is quite shallow here compared to what’s to come
We then made our way to Stoodleigh Woods where there were four sections in the woods. I have no memory of the first which was Georges Bank, possibly due to trauma or more likely senile decay.
The remaining three were firstly a steep slippery climb, then a leafy climb with a tight deviation at the top and finally a climb on a track through a stream with a tight turn at the top.
I felt I should have managed the last of these at least but failed to do so and had the opportunity to further practice my pushing instead.
Metisse council of war before tackling the stream in Stoodleigh Woods
After a lunch stop at Rogers Garage in South Molton we rode to Holdridge Woods where there were another four sections, reduced to three due to the weather.
The first started in a stream and exited up a slippery bank and the remaining two were on such slippery mud that I was exhausted by the time I had wrestled the Metisse to the start board and achieved little more than that.
Section 15, High Bray was next. This is a regularly used hill with rocky slabs and steps and is notoriously slippery.
There was a restart for all classes and this was certainly a stopper for the Metisse. I had help from many Marshalls during the day but would particularly thank the Marshal that helped on High Bray for his assistance and patience whilst I straightened the bike enough to be able to continue.
Next were two sections near Stoke Rivers. The first was a bog with a steep climb out which had been affected by the previous nights rain and the second was a steep grassy climb which it was actually quite fun to see how far it was possible to get up on the Metisse but even more difficult to come back down.
Neil took Snappers low line on his Metisse to avoid as much of the slab as possible (Photo by Tom Nicholls)
Section 18, Snapper was a narrow lane with a tight bend and rock steps on the bend which I approached too cautiously and stopped on one of the rocks.
A few miles further on was the final section, Kings Cott and this was a wet stony lane which I was hugely relieved to clean mostly because it meant I did not have to manhandle the Metisse which by now appeared to have more than doubled in weight.
This only left the special test at Pristacott to complete and this was the normal start on line A, then stop astride B and finish astride line C except that this was in a lane with deep puddles of course, which did increase the sensation of speed. I did the test with my visor open and as a consequence coated the inside of my helmet and visor with muddy water and had to ride to the finish at Tapeley Park with it open.
I was hugely relieved to finally get to the finish after what proved to be an exhausting event and am much impressed with the way my Metisse survived the many attempts to break it during the day.
Neils very muddy Metisse at the finish
It is very much to the credit of the North Devon Motor Club that they were able to still run the Tarka Trial despite the appalling weather of the previous night.
The road route was very well chosen and took in some excellent North Devon lanes and scenery and the Route Card worked well with only a few exceptions and that may not have been the fault of the Card.
Having had good weather for many of the recent ACTC Trials it is inevitable that at some point this would change and this was that event. Let’s hope we do not get another like it too soon or I may need to buy a modern machine.
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.
Classical Gas 