James Wager recently had a week off school to attend the Aussie Titles. As he went home with the 2009 Junior 7-12 Australian MotoTrials Champion trophy, it was obviously a highly successful week! This is his report.
Mum, Dad, my brother Tom, and I went down to the 2008 trials week and National Titles in Victoria last year and had so much fun and met so many nice people that we decided to go to the Xispa 2009 Australian Moto Trials Championships in NSW.
Moto Trials is a sport where riders go slow on special motorbikes, ride over big rocks and other obstacles like logs, creeks and steep banks. Riders try and keep their feet from touching the ground and need skill, balance and precise clutch, brake and throttle control. It is not a very big sport in Australia but in Europe it is massive.
This year the event was held on the 29 and 30 August 2009 at Pacific Park,
Wiseman Ferry Road, South Maroota, NSW. My challenge was to win the “Junior 7 to 12 years” class and my biggest incentive was to beat my younger brother.My parents were really supportive. They agreed that I could have a week off school to go to the Championships. They also took time off from their own jobs to drive Tom and I to Sydney where we stayed with their friends, Noelene & Paul, and their six-year old daughter, Tegan. Thank you.
We were in Sydney five days before the competition, which gave us time to work on the bikes and to practise at Pacific Park. Pacific Park has a very nice lookout across the Hawkesbury River and an extensive river frontage. A week later, when we were riding, there was an exciting speed boat race on this reach of the river, but we didn’t have time to look – we were too busy.
Our event was run over two days – Saturday and Sunday. There were a number of classes – Open Solo, Youths, Women, Veterans, Sidecar (nutcases!), Classics and Post classics (for old bikes), Open Junior, Junior 7-12 years and Junior Women. In Tom’s and my class there were entries from Western Australia, South Australia, ACT, NSW, Victoria and Queensland. I was lucky in that I knew all the Queenslanders personally, and knew of most of the other competitors from last year. There was, in my view, no one for me to worry about except my younger brother, Tom. Competition started at 10am on day one and finished at 4 o’clock. On day two we started at 9.30am and finished at 3.30 pm.
The sections were rocky and dusty but seemed fairly easy for me. In fact, I nearly lost the title because I kept losing concentration in the easier sections. My foot touched the ground when my back wheel slipped on a tight corner. And then again! I didn’t need to do that. Then I made the classic mistake of an overconfident trials rider. I missed an arrow and got an instant five points. Devastation – it could cost me a place in this close competition. Still I thought I should have been OK – I saw some of my competitors struggling in the loose dirt and losing points. What a shock for me when I realised that little Tom had kept it all together and was beating me! But I was determined, so I soon found my concentration and started riding well. I couldn’t afford to lose another point. By the end of day one I learnt that Tom had lost five points when he crashed in a section. He said to me later that he thought he had it won and let his concentration wander to the presentation ceremony. Anything can happen in Moto Trials. It is a real mind game!
That evening Tom and I worked on our bikes and helped each other to focus our attention. On day two we rode carefully and confidently. I didn’t loose any points and Tom only lost two silly points. It was looking good.
When final results were added up, Team Wager won first and second. We both won a trophy and we were very proud of ourselves. Presentations were made at Pacific Park on Sunday evening after dinner. There are some very special people and businesses that have helped Tom and I over the last year. I would like to thank Esk Car Care, SMG Welding and Fabrications (Toogoolawah), Gas Gas Motos Australia, KD Moto Trials, Western Districts Trials Club, Noelene and Paul in Sydney, MUM and DAD and all the friends who taught me how to ride and keep on track.
James Wager
3 September 2009