Sporting Trials - An Overview
What does the driver do?
Truly a 'dark art'
Each section consists of a route marked out with 13 pairs of poles, the start gate followed by 12 more gates marked '12' down to '1'. The objective is to manoeuvre the car between the gates without stopping or touching the poles. If gate 12 is hit, 12 penalty points are added to the driver's score; likewise if gate 11 is hit then 11 penalty points are added, and on down to gate 1. If the car comes to a stop for more than 3 seconds between gates then the value of the next gate is added to the score. At the end of the day the driver with the lowest score is the winner.
What does the passenger do?
They are not just along for the ride
They help to balance the car by leaning out and also bounce to aid traction.
What about the marshals?
The true heroes of the sport
You can also have a go at marshaling on a section to give you a better understanding of what's involved.
The cars
Sporting Trials
If car enthusiasts understood the combination of driving challenge, ultra low-cost and the cameraderie that Sporting Trials offers, it would be the most popular form of motorsport in the country.
Where else would you find a uniquely designed car from around £1500 up to £8000 which are competitive, although there are some very high spec cars which can be obtained for up to £35000? Which other off-roader offers the agility and climbing ability of a mountain goat and the power to weight ratio of a high powered sports car? What other motorsport can provide you and your passenger with a full days sport for a £25 entry fee and a gallon of petrol?
Only certain makes of road tyres are allowed on the rear wheels. On the front, motorcycle tyres are used Tyre presures are set on the day by the Clerk of the Course of 2 psi, to 10 psi depending on the conditions.
Production Car Trials
Unlike Sporting Trials, Production Car Trials is just that - non-specialised, road-going motor cars.
What is a Car Trial?
Sporting Car Trials are organised by different centres within the 750 Motor Club, each centre running one or more Trials in their area. The organiser, ie. Clerk of the Course, will lay out either 6 or 8 sections (hills), each section to be attempted four or five times, giving a total of 30 or 32 sections.
Each section can be slightly altered after each lap and again for the afternoon session. Further alterations may be made to ensure that the same sections are rarely driven twice.
Sections (hills)
Each section consists of a route marked out with 13 pairs of poles, the start gate followed by 12 more gates marked "12" down to "1".
The objective is to manoeuvre the car between the gates without stopping or touching the poles.
If gate 12 is hit, 12 penalty points are added to the driver's score; likewise if gate 11 is hit then 11 penalty points are added, and so on down to gate 1.
If the car comes to a stop for more than 3 seconds between gates then the value of the last gate passed is added to the score.
At the end of the day the driver with the lowest score is the winner.
Tyres and Tyre Pressures
Only certain makes of road tyres are allowed on the rear wheels. Prices start at around £40 each. On the front, motorcycle tyres are used. Prices for these are around £20 each. Tyre presures are set on the day by the Clerk of the Course. This may be "free", ie. minimum of 1 to 2 psi, or they may be set higher at 3 to 5 psi depending on the conditions.
Driver Classes
There are three designated classes:
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A - Expert
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B - Semi-expert
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Novice
A novice driver is allowed to win three novice awards and will then move up to class B, although retaining a novice status throughout the season for the 750 Motor Club Championship. At the end of the season the scores are averaged out over the number of Trials entered for both "A" and "B", and the drivers classified into A and B classes for the following season.
Championship Scoring
The 750 Motor Club Championship takes place over fourteen rounds. Points are awarded to each driver after each round, with the drivers taking the scoring from their best ten rounds.
The driver with the highest score wins the overall Championship, with the highest scoring in each of the three classes winning that particular class award.
Interested?
First step - join the club!