Whale Rock (Bunn, NC) Fun Gate Trial Results

Posted on behalf of David Webster

Twenty-three riders came to Jim Ellis’ legendary Whale Rock property yesterday (Jan 15th) to start the year off at the free gate trial put on annually by David Webster.   The temperature was stubbornly cold with a low 30s start and riders occasionally gathered in patches of sunshine throughout the day.  Several new riders, free food, well laid-out sections in “The Bowl” and the usual CVOTC laughter here and there made for a great kick-off to the year. 

In a gate Trial, you can ride whatever line you want with a goal of maximizing the points accumulated without losing them with a dab. Each gate has a point value. Ride the hard gates for more points. Put your foot down and lose those points accumulated so having and sticking to a strategy is important to avoid losing all your points, particularly as you select your gates nearer the section exit.  Unlike a normal Trials event where the lowest score wins, in a gate Trial the high score wins.  This year we had 7 sections, each with a maximum of 15 points, with 3 loops: a possible total of 315 points.

Special thanks to Joe Palrang, Kevin Bobal, Pavlo (Pasha) Popovych, and Mike Mazak for providing a nice collection of donuts and snacks, CVOTC Hall of Famer Jim Ellis for allowing the club use of his great property, and David Webster as Trialsmaster and for all the time and effort he puts into these events for us.   

The individual winner of this year’s Fun Trial was Kevin Bobal with 242 points.  Prizes were given to the winners and “standout” riders, some involve face attire and pictures are sure to surface.  Special mention to Kenny Gwyn for the Best Crash award for not just one, but three spectacular crashes!  Sadly, none were captured on video.

The riders competed in five teams and finished in the following order: Whale Rock Riders, 900; Team Stooges, 865; Bad Dabbers, 853; and Plonkers, 792.