Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/127413
about the Laugh-In Trophy Trial is that it discourages riders from competin g o n gen uine trials bikes, especially modem o nes. Those wh o com pe te on " regular" motorcycles, suc h as motocrossers, en duro, stre e t a n d dual purpose bikes, are given a certain a mount ofhandica p points which a re eventually su btracted fro m th e rider 's overall score at the end of the da y. Rid ers on pre-198 0 motorcycles are awarded even more handi ca p points. Other hand icap poin ts are a warded to riders over the age of 40, riding his/ her first trials, competing in the hard or " Ball s" class (difficult obstacles), a nd rid in g a fou r-stro ke. Pen a lt y oi n ts (points added to the rider's score) are given to those who regularly compete in trials events, competing in th e "No Ball s" class (easier obstacles) and to th ose who ta ke th e event too serio us ly. T wenty -two indus try members com peted, incl udi ng Ma lcolm Smith ; Dallas Bak er; Kawasaki's pre ss relatio ns ma n Mel Moo re; Petersen Publi shing 's Dick Lague, Ch a rles Mo rey, Mark Ka riya and And y Sau nders; Dirt Bike maga zin e ed itor Ron La wson. Am ong th e ot her industry nota bles who tu rn ed o ut to spectate o r to hel p o u t with scoring were Tria l de Espana fo u n der Fred Bel a i r and his son Ma rt in, Parkhurst and Suzuki's Mall Pr icha rd. T he event featured 10 sections eac h ridden twic e - and two main classes : th e " Ball s" and "No Balls " divisions. All 10 sections had separate routes for th e two different classes. The trial was followed by a hillclimb contest atthe end of the da y. Befo re the event officially got underway, all the riders gathered for the riders' meeti ng. J us t before the meet ing concluded, Malcolm Smith q uestioned La P lante in how the event was going to be scored. Smith was almost pen al ized 20 points for taking the event too ser iously. Wh en all the poi nts were tallied and retallied, it was former speedway ace Bill Man ley coming u p the da y' s overa ll win ner. Man ley scored a total o f six po ints while competing in the No-Ball s class o n a 1991 H onda CR250. ' H e edge d o u t 1991 Ya maha WR250-m ount ed Dall as Baker , who also competed in the No -Ball s class, by o ne point. Sm ith , who was first overall in th e Ball s class riding a 1991 H usqvarna WX C a nd was the last La ugh -In Trophy T rial wi n ner nin e years ago, presented Manley with th e fir st-p lace overall trophy. T he trophy, a so mewhat large and heavy roc k mounted o n a wood base with a metal motorcycle scu lpture on top, was co nstructed by Smith and is traditionally passed o n from event to event. As Smith ha nded over the trophy to Manley, he said with his famous grin, " I shou ld dro p this thing o n your toes." T hen Smith added, " I don ' t th in k we shou ld give it to him, he 's not trustworth y; he'll ne ver bring it ba ck." Ron Lawson to p ped th e j ournalists class, rid in g a '76 Bul taco. Manley added th e hillclimb win to hi s da y's achievem ents. " I think th e event was a success, " said Laf'Iante aft erwar ds. "The main thing was to ha ve fun and ra ise money, some of which will go towards th e Trials de Esp ana on April 12. Of cou rse I have to thank our sponso rs: Ka wasaki, KWB Market ing, Pet erson Publish in g, Intersports Fash ions West, Hondaline, Cycle News, Bridgestone, Motorcycle Product News , Motorcycle Industry magazine, Edgell Exposition and White Bros. Without their help, we couldn 't have done it." l:ll Dirt Bike magazine editor Ron Lawson cheated; he rode a genuine tria ls bike! Dirt Rider magazine's Mark Kariya would've won the best color-coordinated class if th ey had one. Instead. he settled for third in the Journalist divi sion. Andy Saunders from Motorcyclist magazine supplied laughs on a Triumph. The trophy table looked more like a garage's workbench. Creative trophy-making was handled by this year's organizer, Gary LaPlante. Pushing and pulling was a common sight at the Laugh-In Trophy Trial. Even Parkhurst (middle) got in the action by lending a helping hand. Many sections were challenging. Laugh-In Trophy Trial co-founder Joe Parkhurst witnessed the event's revival Results: The course - 1; Dirt Bike's Joe Kosch and his Yamaha 60 - O.