Team Update For We Buy Any Bike - British Trials Championship

The season started with the We Buy Any Bike team travelling south to the beautiful Oxfordshire country side, with an overnight stay at Seymour's arena in Didcot. Riding the first British Trials Championship of the season is always a daunting task and something the riders eagerly await but are also very nervous about.

With many changes to the line up this year and some exceptional talent coming up through the younger ranks, it’s anticipated that it's going to be a very competitive class with 5 girls all being able to win on the day.

The trial at Seymour's was exactly as expected from the Robinson team who organised the event, high rocks, tight turns and steep climbs made for a high scoring event. The eventual winner in the girls B class championship being webuyanybike.com Gas Gas rider Olivia Brooksbank, winning by a massive 46 points from her nearest rival riding the Beta 125 machine.  This victory was special for the team because it was the first ever National win!

Round Two

Round two was only two weeks later and with a massive confidence boost from such a large margin of victory on her first win, Olivia was hoping that the trip to South Shropshire would end with the same result. However, this was not to be the case upon viewing the sections the day before it became apparent the level of severity had been eased considerably to accommodate the whole field of riders.

This did not suit one half of the webuyanybike team but really helped out our younger rider Summer, who came away with a season-best result of 4th place in a series in which she is by far the youngest competitor.  On the day the ease of the sections made the trial mentally difficult and scores very close, with five riders under ten points the admin team had a difficult task working out the results.  Again it was Olivia who came out first with a score of just 2 points, and her three rivals all being on 3 points each.

Round Three

This round saw the longest drive of the season in the UK to Bideford in Devon. Here we had a fantastic trial set mainly in the woods with a very elevated walk and a long lap. The trial was very close between the first two girls Olivia and Elisabeth Tett, but then an outstanding last lap of just 1 saw Olivia run away with the victory with Tett taking the third-second place of the season. The other girls didn't fare so well here with some more difficult terrain and larger rock steps, they finished a good distance behind the two front runners.

Round Four

Onto round four with a spring in her step Olivia, was full of confidence.
The Motorhome is loaded, the We Buy Any Bike team is southward bound to East Sussex. Visiting another great venue in Heathfield. This is run by the Bexley Heath club. The second time in the two years the girls and Ladies visited this woody venue.

This is famous for its steep climbs and difficult terrain. After a break from riding against the girls to compete against the boys at her age level in the boys British B class championships. Olivia found this event much easier than the other girls winning the event. Before the other girls had even completed their third laps and halved all her other rivals scores, including the intermediate ladies. Second Place went to the local-ish girl Sarah Bell who had a great ride and beat Tett into third place.

Worrying times ahead..

After two confidence smashing crashes and a trip to the hospital. Followed by a disastrous ride in the European Championships in Italy we need to go back to basics.

3 days hard practice was just what Olivia needed. After crashing heavily 2 out of 3 trials and not looking too good in training. Instead of hitting big rock after big rock preparing for the boy's trials. Olivia went back to old school training in preparation for the two rounds in Northumberland.

Rounds Five and Six

Rounds five and six are a doubleheader on Saturday and Sunday in Northumberland.

Wash off the motorhome and do the big pack ready for the 3-hour drive up the A1. Arriving late on Friday night we were unable to walk the sections the day before the event.  Up early Saturday morning and last minute checks were all done and the Gas Gas 125 GP is ready. The bike has been fantastic all season never missing a beat and being robust enough to withstand the crashes. We are confident the bike is better than the rider.

As the first rider of both days is at an early disadvantage. But a healthy six-hour time limit should calm things down. Off to the first section and an early clean is just what the doctor ordered. The next section was a controversial five for stopping, which was more than harsh in our opinion. By the end of Olivia's 3 laps it was apparent she had done enough to win the trial. Even though the other girls only had 2 laps completed. In the end, it was a relatively easy win but still the job needed to be done. Second place was taken by the up and coming youth star from the Isle of Man Kaytlin Adshead. This gave Olivia an easy ride in to win the championship by just finishing the event on Sunday.

When Sunday came around Olivia cruised to victory. Making it six from six wins with Daisy Parsons taking second on the day.

Round Seven

With a maximum of 120 points from a possible 120, Olivia will apply to move up to Girls A class Championship course for the final round in Derbyshire.

We think the season-high apart from winning, is the great spirit all the riders have shown. This was best shown with everybody playing rounders together. Including the Current ladies world no1 and two time World Champion Emma Bristow! It was the perfect ending to a fantastic event. Thanks to everyone involved and we look forward to more exciting trials coming our way.