It is with disappointment and regret that Bradford and District Motor Club must announce that our 2017 Allan Jefferies Trophy Trial has been cancelled. This decision was not taken lightly.
This, our flagship event, was due to be held this coming Sunday, the 30
th of July. Much administrative and practical work had been completed; a revised one lap course was established; food, fuel and hospitality were all on hand at the new Start in Kettlewell and the all too small team of dedicated enthusiasts had worked long and hard appropriately preparing for what we hoped would be a welcome and well received classic National Trial. Subsequently, a combination of factors led us to make the difficult decision to cancel. On Wednesday morning we had just ten riders who were prepared to tackle the principal Allan Jefferies Course and close to forty wanting to ride the Clubman Course. Clearly this was neither good nor desirable, but as half the course had already been marked out we were, following earlier consultations, generally in favour of running as planned; unfortunately Mother Nature didn’t agree. Inspection of the Sections following sustained heavy rainfall, not unexpectedly, revealed that many of the beck Sections had been effectively washed out. Normally benign summer streams had become torrents and consequently much of the good work put in to date was swiftly undone.
Worryingly, similar weather is forecast over the next five days and therefore the rise and fall of water levels is likely to be somewhat unpredictable. Reinstating the affected Sections, perhaps repeatedly, would be a struggle within the timescale but we would have strived to do what was necessary had we been catering for 120 riders. Putting in the additional effort for an event where just ten riders are ambitious enough to relish the challenge of competing for some historic and prestigious silverware did not seem worthwhile and with only a further forty attempting to win the May & Wells Cup, the realistic option was to cancel.
Riders: We thank you for entering and we are sorry that this decision has upset your sporting weekend. Each entrant will be contacted and informed of the situation. Entry fees will be returned or cheques destroyed.
Bradford & District Motor Club thank everyone who kindly gave us their assistance. Event officials spent countless hours doing whatever was necessary to ensure that this fine event succeeded; that it all came to nought this year is regrettable but that doesn’t diminish the level of help we received from valued Bradford members, Yorkshire Centre Officials, key members of other clubs, the Press, staff at ACU HQ and several others. Staff at the National Trust and the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority were helpful and agreeable to deal with and we are truly grateful for the goodwill and cooperation of all the landowners and a number of local residents; their continued support is essential for the success of future events.
It is encouraging to note that the Allan Jefferies Trophy Trial has such good friends and we, the A.J. Team, thank you all.
We hope the event has better luck and many more competitors in 2018.