Chairman at full chat
As we come to the end of 2025, another successful year for the club draws to a close.
I’d like to thank everyone for their continued support throughout the year. Our landowners have once again been incredibly supportive of our events, and we are very grateful to them. Thanks also to all those who officiated and marshalled, and of course to our competitors and committee members for their time and commitment. Competitor numbers and club membership remain strong, and we hope this continues into next year.
We hope we’ve managed to offer something for everyone again this year, with the addition of the evening trial proving to be a popular addition. This will be planned again in 2026—possibly more than once—alongside another full calendar of events. The new club year will get underway with the Awards Evening in early February, which will follow the successful format of recent years and continues to be very well supported. We look forward to seeing many of you there again.
Well done to everyone who represented the club and competed in their respective championships, with some excellent results achieved across the disciplines.
Finally, I’d like to wish you all, and your families, a very happy Christmas and a Happy New Year. I look forward to seeing you all when the new calendar of events begins.
Meanwhile, don’t forget to book your place at the Awards Night: details below.
The Club’s Awards Presentation Night is on Friday, 6th February at Trethorne, Kennards House, Launceston PL15 8QE
7pm arrival for food at 7.30pm, followed by the awards presentation and a raffle.
The price is £28.00 per head, which includes a carvery and a sweet. Under-12s are at the discounted rate of £14.00 each.
We need to know by Tuesday, 20th January, if you would like to come.
CASH ON THE NIGHT PLEASE.
We hope you are able to join us. Please email info@lncmc.co.uk or contact Lisa Gregory through Facebook to book your place.
Simon Riddle, Chairman
Ron Beer Sporting Trial 14/12/2025
Mike Wevill reports from an LNCMC event dominated by local entrants
After torrential downpours on Monday and Tuesday, the run up to the Ron Beer Trial was a little fraught for the organisers. However, site inspections on Wednesday and Thursday revealed that the Ashleigh site had drained quickly and the trial was on provided the sections were carefully laid out.
In the event, a select group of seven (just enough to make the event viable) local competitors arrived to fine weather on the Sunday morning. The Trial was the final round of the 2025 ASWMC Sporting Trials Championship which had already been decided through Thomas Bricknell’s season-long total dominance. Champion Thomas did arrive to marshal in the afternoon!
Tyre pressures were free for the morning with four rounds of three hills.
At the lunch break Alan Murton and Roger Bricknell (showing that he has not lost his fine judgment of pace) were tying on one point, followed by Colin Flashman and yours truly just eight and 10 points adrift suggesting a close low score event.
The afternoon consisted of another three hills run four times) but with minimum tyre pressures raised to 5psi. The new sections were on the top side of the site with two on grass and one in the woods.
Imposing tyre pressure limits had a major impact on the scoring. Colin Flashman was able to put in some superb climbs and overhaul the gap to run out the winner of the Ron Beer Trophy on 35 points whilst Alan Murton was second on 41 with Roger Bricknell close on hand with 45.
Photos By John Turner
It was good to see some fine climbs from Roger Teagle and Nigel Shute.
All-in-all a superb day’s trialling judging by the smiling faces and favourable comments thanks to Andy Prosser’s wizardry with poles and hammer. How nice it is to run a club event for appreciative locals.
As ever, many thanks to the marshals, even though small in number, and landowner Paul Webber.
We hope to be back in May for the Northgate Trial: BTRDA and ASWMC Championship rounds.
Seasonal Greetings to all.
Mike Wevill
The Camel Classic Trial 7/12/25
Simon Riddle is back in the driver’s seat for the last Classic Trial of the year.
The Camel Trial was preceded with lashings of rain and foul weather not fit for man or beast! Ideal conditions to finish the year and have a wondrous run up to Christmas.
The Liege hasn’t been out competitively since the Edinburgh in September, and I have been running the Continental tyres at the back on the road for the last couple of months, so I rotated them from left to right and vice versa to hopefully find the gripping edges for the sections. I’ve ordered some 16-inch Yokohama Geolanders for the newly powder-coated Liege alloy wheels, but they aren’t here yet and seem to be lost in transit. Hopefully they will arrive in time for the Exeter, come on agcompany-tyres, your feedback isn’t going to be very good. They advertise at one price, say they have been dispatched and then 10 days later say you have to pay VAT, Customs duty and a handling charge! They’ll still be cheaper than I could find in UK, that’s if they ever arrive. I’ve been a good boy Santa, honest.
I took the car to Bodmin Rugby club on the trailer where there was ample parking and then off to Bodmin Nursery for scrutineering and the start. As I arrived, Emma Groves was starting her adventure in the Beetle with Christmas tree, lights and star gaffer taped to the roof and further Xmas accoutrements attached to the car (the tree escaped en route).
Wingman Liam Hartley was waiting and circulating with everyone and didn’t seem too keen on the Christmas hat I had brought him. He then let on that his sister had given him some tinsel, so I trimmed the cars wing mirrors with it.
Off and away as car 60 at 9.34 and followed the same route as previous years to Hustyn. I stiffened the rear shocks, provided some Tangfastic Haribo’s to the marshal and gunned for the top with (surprisingly) both Christmas hats being worn. With a clear on the first, we felt a bit more relaxed and Liam stated the hat would only be worn on the sections, which is great as long as we clear the sections!
The next sections went OK but not quite cleared and then on to our first restart, Jab & Left Hook. Normally I stop at the top but this year I decided to try from the bottom. I just managed a 4 which wasn’t what we wanted.
Pump House Climb was a blast but not quite to the top with a nasty dip and stone near the bottom. Pleasant Plucker’s Son followed with another restart where again I stopped at the bottom instead of the top – points dropped!
On the way to the Observed Test we stopped and donated my spare spark plugs to the Liege of Oliver Hicks that was having engine issues. We did a reasonable Observed Test before following the roads to Penkestle 1 & 2 where again I stopped at the bottom of the restart on the second section. Three restarts in a row where I should have stopped at the top.
After signing our lives away before attempting Clinnick, we flew to the top with Liam cock-a-hoop as it was his first time to the top. By now class 7 had had retirements from Aaron Haizelden (Escort) and Calvim Moores (MG J2) both of which would have been capable of winning the class, but finishing is priority number one.
On to Laneskin Woods for three more sections and then finally to Helligan for the final Observed Test and Helligan 1 for a blast up the hill which I got out of rhythm in the track and didn’t straighten the kinks out.
Helligan Zero is such a frustrating hill and all the class 7 cars want to clear it. I only managed a 4 but John and Natasha Early in their Liege managed to get a 2 which is truly a brilliant climb. The fight will be on next year to get a clear!
The hill claimed the Early’s rear hydraulic brake pipe but fortuitously crimped the broken end over as it was knocked off. You wouldn’t think it was possible, but I’ve seen the pictures. He should have done the Lottery that evening.
A Grand Finale to the season with a fine selection of hills and conditions to challenge all classes of car and bike. Quite a lot of damage done to some vehicles and maybe the organisers could mix some new hills next year and in a different order. That said, a fantastic day’s trialling with marshals to die for in sometimes challenging conditions.
Thanks to everyone involved in any way from all competitors. Roll on the Bodmin Heights Classic Trial on 18th January, if my car is going by then, that’s another story!!
Simon Riddle
A Marshal’s Tale
John Turner has been out with his flag and clipboard at two events
The Ron Beer Sporting Trial returned to Ashleigh Farm at Lifton where once again Andy Prosser not only did a sterling job of laying out the sections he also arranged sunny weather with a bit of a breeze to make sure the sections had suitably dried out (which almost came back to bite him).
A small but quality entry gathered in the car park and by 10.15 (very civilised) we were all in place to see what was to unfold.
I was on section 1 just above the quarry which until the day I had no idea it existed there. As I said conditions were dry which meant many competitors managed a clean climb to the point I was getting fed up with putting the letter “0” on the score sheet, Andy was getting concerned, after each round he would alter the section to make it more difficult, all to little avail, “I can’t believe it “ he exclaimed as driver after driver was still cleaning the section despite Andy’s best attempts to trip them up.
By lunchtime most people were on a very low score, so much so that Alan Murton and Roger Bricknell had each only dropped one point. Fortunately the afternoon’s hills were to prove somewhat more taxing , Andy was not to be outdone. By the end of the day even the leader board had changed, Colin Flashman taking the overall win, second was Alan Murton followed by Roger Bricknell. All in all a good days sport. Thanks to the land owners for their kind permission to let us use their land.
An evening phone call from Alan Keat just two days before the event saw me press ganged into marshalling on the Camel Trial at the second special test in Heligan woods. I arrived in plenty of time to have lunch before the onslaught of motorbikes and sidecars arrived.
The special test was a straight-forward circular route from line A to line C although to make it interesting there was a bit of a mud bath half way through it. This didn’t slow anyone up: after all the fastest time was at stake so mud had to be sprayed even if it was all over my rucksack !
Next to the special test was the Heligan section on which Lawrence Payne was marshalling, I hadn’t seen Lawrence for several years so it was good to catch up.
It’s surprising how time flies when marshalling no sooner had we got rid of the bikes a whole load of cars turned up some of which were decked out with Christmas decorations and some wearing their finest Christmas attire, good to see so many people entered into the spirit of the event, best turned out car went to Emma Groves, well done Emma.
John Turner
Tales from the Ed’s bike shed
Well, the good news is that by following the time-honoured process of taking bits off and putting them back on again I’ve now got a functioning throttle on the Beta and have begun the not terribly exciting running-in process, which has not been helped by the generally horrible weather.
The bad news is that the LED headlamp that I installed over a year ago now seems to be having an adverse effect on the Beta’s little digital instrument pod…which behaves erratically and flickers to the point where it cannot be read, especially on main beam when an additional three LEDs come into play alongside the two that are permanently illuminated. Plugging in the standard headlamp resolves the problem, so it has to be the LED lams or the associated rectifier making the instruments go haywire. I don’t fancy trying to do the Exeter with either a flickering dash or the standard headlamp, so will have to work on a solution. The other bad news is that the heated grips no longer want to get hot…and that will definitely need to be sorted.
I’ve also ordered a pair of ZeroFit Heatrub leggings for the event. These are claimed to have unique warming properties as the weave contains a mix of fibres that generate heat by the friction they create as they rub over each other. I will wear them under my KTM Tourrain trousers which will replace my usual outer-layer garb of motocross jeans. Will they work?
Well, it would be nice if they did!
I’ll let you know next time.
But, stop press, they have just arrived. Not used them in anger yet, but they seem to generate heat as soon as you put them on. My step-daughter, who designs Arctic survival gear for Shackelton, looked at them and was positive about the properties of the fabric (four different fibres in a four-way weave if you want to be technical).
Meanwhile, huge thanks to everyone who has contributed to this year’s Newsletters, and keep the stories coming: words, pictures, cars, bikes, trials, tech fixes, funny stories, vehicle, kit and tool reviews, are all welcome: richardsimpson94@yahoo.co.uk
And Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you all!
Richard Simpson: Editor
