The Barrow & District Motorcycle Club, the oldest established motorcycle club in the Furness area, held their annual Zeke Myers Memorial Trial, which counted towards the Northern Centre Championship, last Sunday in the woodland and fells around Torver common.

Zeke Myers, as many of our older readers will recall, was a top scrambles rider in the late fifties and early sixties on the tracks here in Furness and elsewhere.

Overnight rain had again dampened some of the sections but overall conditions on the day were good.

Club stalwarts had laid out three routes for competitors, The Hard, the Green and the Clubmans. Each course being made up of approximately 15 sections. Riders had to tackle each course three times under the watchful eyes of the observers.

The event attracted a full entry despite many local riders being across in Harrogate competing at the British Trials Championship round. Riders set off from the start at the Lakeland Land Rover Centre near Torver.

The closest finish took place on the Clubmans course with Millom’s Mark Barrow, riding a Gas Gas, tying for the win with Milnthorpe’s Mark Quinn, who rode a Beta, with both riders having lost a mere two marks each.

Barrow was adjudged the winner as per the trials rules, having ‘cleaned’ more sections than Quinn.

Backbarrow veteran Angus Jenkinson wasn’t too far behind the leading pair with a loss of a mere five marks on his Vertigo. Scorpa-mounted riders took all the honours on the Hard Course.

Results

Hard Course: 1. Stephen Dixon (Scorpa, Grasmere, 24 marks lost) 2. Sam Myers (Scorpa, Coniston, 30) 3. James Johnson (Scorpa, Coniston, 43).

Green Course: 1. Rob Shuttleworth (Scorpa, Kendal, 10), 2. Tom Hodgson (Beta, Kendal, 21), 3. Ryan Whitefield (Gas Gas, Lancaster, 24).

Clubmans Course: 1. Mark Barrow (Gas Gas, Millom, (most cleans) 2) 2. Mark Quinn (Beta, Milnthorpe, 2), 3. Angus Jenkinson (Vertigo, Backbarrow, 5).

As always, the club would like to thank all the course plotters observers, landowners and officials etc who gave up their time to make the event possible.

Still on the trials theme, the Lakes Two Day Trial will soon be upon us. The event, now in its 44th year and organised by the Lakes Motorcycle Trials Association, will set off and finish from Broughton-in-Furness Auction Mart on Saturday, October 5 and Sunday, October 6.

Organisers tell me entries are now open via www.lakesmta.com/entries and are coming in fast.

This popular trial is always oversubscribed and attracts riders from all over the UK and a good contingent from the Isle of Man, so if you do intend competing, you`d be well advised to get your entry in ASAP to avoid disappointment.

*Dalton motocross rider Greg Fisher proved master again at the latest round of the Bridgestone British Masters Championship.

He contested the penultimate round on the Hawkstone Park track in Shropshire last weekend.

To use other competitors’ words, the track was ‘brutal,’ with deep ruts making it difficult for most riders.

However, Fisher coped better than most, and came away with a tally of three wins and a second place.

Providing nothing goes wrong at the final round at the end of this month on the Cusses Gorse track near Salisbury, he’s now virtually assured of retaining the title he won last year.

Ireleth’s Jamie Keith secured a third place in the 65cc class on his MBR Racing supported KTM.

My congrats to local motocross star Deejay Walker, who added another member to his team at the weekend, Oakley Terry Walker, who was born on Sunday.

*The annual Leighton Hall Speed Hill climb, in the picturesque grounds of Leighton Hall near Carnforth, is fast approaching.

Entries are up on last year and have already been received from competitors from as far away as Cornwall and the Isle of Man.

I mentioned in a previous article they have a ‘run what you brung’ class. You can pit your own machine against your friends’ machines and settle that bar-top argument over who has the quickest bike without fear of prosecution.

The date is set for Sunday, September 22. For further information, regarding competing or club displays etc, contact Ian Sherrard on 01772 323654 (evenings 6-8pm), his mobile on 07836 331324 (daytime) or via email on info@leightonhallmotorcyclehillclimb.co.uk.

Further good news for hill climb fans, the Hoghton Tower venue near Blackburn are planning two events in 2020.

*For the first time in more years than I care to remember, Furness will not be represented at this year’s Manx Grand Prix.

Spare a thought for the Wilcock Racing team here in Barrow, as after months of preparation their rider, Manxman Mikey Evans, crashed heavily at the pre-TT event at Castletown, sustaining a broken collarbone, putting him out of the TT the following week.

Just about fully recovered, he gained some impressive results on the Wilcock machines back on the Southern 100 course near Castletown last month and looked all set for a serious crack at the Classic TT event that runs alongside the Manx Grand Prix in three weeks’ time.

Sadly he`s now ruled out of that one too after re-breaking his collarbone during a training session on a motocross machine.

At the time of writing, team owner Graham Wilcock is undecided if he will field another rider.