Following the standard podium ceremony at the fifth round of the Wulfsport ACU Trial GB series last Sunday at Scarborough, an important presentation took place in recognition of the work Dave and Elizabeth Willoughby have put into the series right up until March last year, when the virus put a halt to proceedings.
Approximately twenty five years ago, Dave created a new and revolutionary scoring system which included punch cards and a scoreboard which gave updated results on riders scores at the end of each lap and of course, virtually instant results at the end of each round.
He continued this task at every round right up until he decided to protect his lovely wife Elizabeth and himself, who ran the second laptop, to announce his retirement when Covid was a real scare throughout the community, when three later rounds were held last season.
When Series Manager, Brian Higgins asked Toby Martyn to relinquish the top step of the podium after the Trial GB class presentation, the Scarborough winner was pleased to do so, which allowed Dave and Elizabeth to take centre stage.
Dan Peace then presented them with a Gold Plate which read "Best Results" which we understand now sits proudly on a wall in the Willoughby household. Invited to speak, Dave recalled how it started all those years ago and reflected on changing times and the associated challenges.
The large gathering of Riders, Teams and Trials fans gave a huge round of well deserved applause for their efforts.