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| Josh Hanlon, Gas Gas, in action on section 5 during the Dublin & District Motorcycle Club Moran Cup Trial, Ballyreagh Wood, Co. Wicklow. |
Bray man Ciallian Doyle fresh from victory in the Southern Centre season opener a week before was out to try and make it a double. He would have stiff competition from the strong northern contingent this time however.
Scott Callaghan from Johnstown in county Kildare, made his first southern outing of the year after a strong second place in last weeks Ulster Trials Championship to Josh Hanlon. Adam Harris was making his return to the Expert Elite class this year and it would interesting to see how he would fair out. Banbridge man Hanlon has had a busy few weeks between competing in the Trial Des Nations, a world round in Spain as well as Ulster championship would be the man to beat along with his brother Stuart. Stuart McClurg and former champion Sean Doyle would also be in the mix. The weather was glorious as the trial started at 10.30am with the Youth's, Clubman and Sportsman grades leaving first. Followed later by the Semi-expert, expert and elite.
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| Scott Callaghan, TRS, in action on section 5 during the Dublin & District Motorcycle Club Moran Cup Trial, Ballyreagh Wood, Co. Wicklow. |
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| Cillian Doyle, Gas Gas, in action on section 5 during the Dublin & District Motorcycle Club Moran Cup Trial, Ballyreagh Wood, Co. Wicklow. |
The Youth C+ was won by Liam Killaly but it was close all day between the top three. Ruadhan McGinn was second and Luke Kelly third. Youth B went to Ollie Smyth in another close battle with Aaron Scanlon. Harry Schmelter took Youth A. With a large group of juniors coming through in the next season or so, it should boost the numbers further on the big course so things are looking bright for future trials.
In the Clubman grade it was the battle of the Pypers all day as they pulled clear of the rest of the pack with Stephen coming out on top ahead of Ross. Semi-Expert was won by Gary Wall it style finishing well clear of runner up Rob Regan.
The Expert grade was close all day with three marks separating Alex Lennox and Alex Guthrie after two laps. A costly mistake on section 5 when Guthrie land outside the tape cost him five marks alone and Lennox won in end by ten. Still it was a good battle to watch all day.
At the top in the Expert Elite grade Hanlon was in a league of his own. The mileage done in the past weeks standing to him as he dropped 15 marks on the first two laps with Sean Doyle being his nearest challenger on 27. In fact, all bar Hanlon had dropped larger amounts on the first tag compared to their second. Sean Doyle scored the same on both so he stayed in fourth overall. The weather had changed by the fourth lap to a heavy mist and that could have played a part too but either way the race was for second.
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| Sean Doyle, Scorpa, in action on section 5 during the Dublin & District Motorcycle Club Moran Cup Trial, Ballyreagh Wood, Co. Wicklow. |
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| Stuart McClurg, TRS, in action on section 5 during the Dublin & District Motorcycle Club Moran Cup Trial, Ballyreagh Wood, Co. Wicklow. |
It was a closely fought battle as both Cillian Doyle and Stuart McClurg scored the same on the first tag and with time ticking by it was close to get to the finish without getting penalties. In the end Doyle took it by two marks. Stuart Hanlon had a heavy fall on section five damaging his hand and his clutch leaver so it ended his day. Harris was in touch on the opening two laps but fell off by the end of the fourth but still put in a good effort on his return to Elite Plus. Scott Callaghan was riding well but dropped too many marks on the first two laps but had a much better second and third but the damage was done which put him fifth.
Speaking afterwards the winner was delighted to get the season off to the best start " I really enjoyed the event put on by the D&D Club. The sections suited me well, with a good mix of technical rockery and traditional streams. It turned into quite a physical trial towards the end, with the sections becoming slightly greasy.
I didn’t see many of the other Expert Elite riders through the sections, so I wasn’t sure where I stood. It was a relief to hear I’d done enough to take the win at the end of the day.
A big thanks to everyone involved in putting the event on, my Dad for minding, and my Mum, girlfriend and Pippa the dog for supporting."
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| Josh Hanlon, Gas Gas, in action on section 5 during the Dublin & District Motorcycle Club Moran Cup Trial, Ballyreagh Wood, Co. Wicklow. |
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| Josh Hanlon, Gas Gas, in action on section 5 during the Dublin & District Motorcycle Club Moran Cup Trial, Ballyreagh Wood, Co. Wicklow. |
Doyle may have finished second this week but was still upbeat after the event " Yeah it was a good day overall, happy to start the championship off with a P2, unfortunately I didn't settle as well as last week and threw away a few easy marks which pushed us out of the fight with Josh but glad to win a tight battle with Stuart and Seán. Hopefully we can build from here and try to push for some more good results going forward. "
Third place McClurg knew he didn't perform to his best," I couldn't get going at all, far too many silly mistakes in the tight and technical sections, that being said I did enjoy the day and looking forward to next Irish championship round in a couple of weeks time. I would also like to thank the observers and officials for there time."
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| Stuart McClurg, in action on section 5 during the Dublin & District Motorcycle Club Moran Cup Trial, Ballyreagh Wood, Co. Wicklow. |
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| Stuart Hanlon, Beta, in action on section 5 during the Dublin & District Motorcycle Club Moran Cup Trial, Ballyreagh Wood, Co. Wicklow. |
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| Adam Harris, Vertigo, in action on section 5 during the Dublin & District Motorcycle Club Moran Cup Trial, Ballyreagh Wood, Co. Wicklow. |
As the event was being wrapped up and the course returned to its natural state Adam Harris gave the lowdown on his day and that from the clubs point of view. "It was a big step back to the Expert Elite for me but I'm enjoying the challenge of it and to see the improvement of the other riders since I was in it last. The D&D were happy with how it went, from the feedback we got we achieved what we set out to do. That is mark sections challenging but ridable for all grades. Going by the results this worked for the most part. We couldn't have done it without all of the help from course markers, observers, sign on and results crew and of course all of the riders who entered!"
The next round of the championship is on the 31st of October at Dromore Activity Centre, Co. Down.
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