NI motorsports club toasts 10 years with anniversary event

A motorsports club from County Down whose membership includes riders ranging from the ages of four to 87 has celebrated its 10th birthday.

Moto Trial NI recently marked the milestone with a special event at Whitesports Park in Newtownards.

The club has been hosting events for the past decade, having been formed to fight to keep the historic Leadmines venue open for riders to practise and compete in a safe, lawful and insured environment.

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The park is the only fully planned and council approved trials area on the island of Ireland and is used every Sunday throughout the year, and on Wednesday evenings during the summer. The club regularly hosts between 20 and 60 riders on Sundays, with riders of all abilities, from novice through to National and International level.

The park was also the venue used in 1941 by the combined British Forces to train dispatch riders before deployment to the European theatre. At the end of the training a trial was held to see who the best rider was.

"This event was also to honour and remember these riders, and the Irish Guards and 591 AA Squadron were in attendance with stalls showcasing their history," said Warren McKee from Moto Trial NI.

"The Club were delighted to have the support of the Mayor, Jennifer Gilmour, and Chief Executive Stephen Reid, both taking time to visit the sections on the course to see the riders tackling the sections set out by the club. Local MLA Stephen Dunne was also in attendance, as was councillor Steven Irvine to show their continuing support for the club and see the riders in action."

This year club chairman Andrew Perry decided to spice things up by locating areas of the park that had never been used. Along with volunteers they developed these areas to give the club riders 10 brand new sections to test themselves on over four laps Also new this year was a new grade for Semi Expert level and above.

Warren added: "This event was the first of a five-round series and we have to thank the landowners, Colin Farrett and the Council for access to the area. Thanks also to the officers from the Irish Guards and 591 AA Squadron for taking the time to showcase their activities, I know one wee eight-year-old lady who had a ball with the Engineers' stall, and dressed up like her uncle with the Irish Guards uniform.

"Special thanks must go to Claire McWhirter of the Somme Heritage Centre for permission to use their frontage to host the sign on and access to the cafe area and toilets. If you have not yet visited the Centre you should do so. It has a wonderful series of exhibits and a walk through reconstruction of the trenches from the Somme in WWI.

"Thanks to the medics from Pro Paramedics for being on site, but thankfully not required. Thank-you too to all the observers for giving their time to allow the event to take place."

Warren added: "Big special thanks to our very own Mrs Moto Trial, Nicola Coulter. We all do our bit to make the club run as smooth as possible, but Nicola has a drive that has to be admired. Not only does she do our memberships, back office work, she also makes the most wonderful soup that every rider gets after the event along with tea, coffee etc.

"But for this event she put together a wonderful pictorial pin board spread cataloguing the history of the Mines themselves, the trial in 1941 (with pictures by kind permission of Andy Glenfield from WW2 NI) and a history of the club from inception to fight to keep the park open through to our events and right up to date.

"And last and most importantly, thank you to each and every rider for coming along in such numbers and supporting the club."

FULL RESULTS

SEMI EXPERT

1. Mason Crawford

2. John McAndrew

3. Aaron Wright

SEMI EXPERT AIR COOLED MONO

1. Stuart McClurg

2. Robert Crawford

3. Ross Allen

CLUBMAN ELITE

1. Terry McKee

2. Desy Leckey

3. Alex Dugan

CLUBMAN

1. Micah Jones

2. Josh Wilson

3. Daniel Annett

CLUBMAN PRE 65

1. Stephen Murphy

CLUBMAN AIR COOLED MONO

1. Che McStay

CLUBMAN TWINSHOCK

1. Jamie Chambers

2. Adam Reid

3. Kyle Hewitt

SPORTSMAN ELITE

1. Robbie Jennings

2. Ian Page

3. Nigel Mowbray

SPORTSMAN

1. Gary Johnston

2. Johnny Russell

3. Brian Rogers

SPORTSMAN PRE 65

1. David Lemon

2. Ross McCullough

SPORTSMAN AIR COOLED MONO

1. George Robinson

SPORTSMAN TWINSHOCK

1. Michael Adams

2. David Hamill

Andy Owens

YOUTH B

1. Tom Stevenson

YOUTH C

1. Harry Marshall

2. Charlie Cooke

3. Toby Jones

YOUTH D BIG COURSE

1. Ben Reid

YOUTH D MINI COURSE

1. Jack Cregg

2. Noah Barr

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