The Geoff Taylor

# Geoff Taylor 2025 - A Competitor's Survival Guide (And Comedy Show)

**Date:** February 16, 2025

**Event:** Geoff Taylor Trial

**Weather:** February in Britain - God's way of reminding us why we invented central heating

**Survival Rate:** 22 of 25 crews made it to the end (better odds than a reality TV show)

Pre-Event Wisdom: What We Should Have Known (But Didn't)

The Geoff Taylor is like that friend who invites you for "a quiet drink" and you wake up three days later in a different county with no memory and a traffic cone. It looks innocent enough on paper, but with an average score of 94 points across 22 finishers, this trial had all the mercy of a tax inspector and twice the vindictiveness.

**First Lesson:** When the best possible score across all three rounds was 23 points, and the winner still managed 47, you know you're not at a gentle introduction to the sport. This was a venue where optimism goes to die and gearboxes go to make expensive noises.

Round One: Welcome to the University of Hard Knocks

 The Brutal Truth About Sections That "Don't Look Too Bad" With round averages of 37 points out of a possible 64, Round One was like being welcomed to a new job by having your desk set on fire. Thomas Bricknell and Beth Carroll somehow managed 22 points, proving that occasionally someone reads the instruction manual before trying to assemble the flat-pack furniture of trials driving.

**Top Tip #1:** When you peer at a section and think "that looks interesting," what you're actually looking at is your bank balance preparing to file for bankruptcy. The Bricknell team clearly understood that sometimes the most heroic thing you can do is absolutely nothing heroic whatsoever.

**Top Tip #2:** Notice how the leaders scored zero on Sections 7 and 8? That's not because they forgot to start their engines - that's because they'd learned the ancient trial art of "not being stupid." Sometimes the boring line that everyone ignores is boring because it actually works, unlike your more exciting options which work about as well as a chocolate teapot. 

The Perils of Thinking You Know Better Than Physics

John Firth and Ann Boyes were scrapping for the lead with 25 points, but their Section 2 disaster (a 6 when others managed 3s) was a masterclass in how confidence can turn into comedy faster than you can say "I'll just try the heroic line."

**Top Tip #3:** Walk the sections. Then walk them again. Then get someone else to walk them while you watch, taking notes. That innocent-looking rock isn't providing traction - it's providing entertainment for the marshals. The line that looks impossible probably is impossible, but at least it's honest about it.

Round Two: The Plot Thickens (Like Mud) Round Two saw averages creep up to 31 points, suggesting either the sections were getting nastier or everyone's concentration was wandering off to contemplate life choices. Peter Fensom and Liz Fensom were showing the kind of consistency usually reserved for Swiss watches and British weather complaints.

 The Noble Art of Controlled Disaster Management

Andy Wilks and Mark Smith perfectly demonstrated how a trial can transform from tragedy to comedy to something resembling competence. After a wobbly start, they found their groove and started posting scores that didn't make the calculator weep. Their Round Two performance showed what happens when you stop arguing with gravity and start negotiating.

**Top Tip #4:** If you're having a disaster on the early sections, don't compound it by panicking. Trials are like bad dates - you're committed to seeing them through, so you might as well try to salvage something from the experience. Everyone else is struggling too; the difference is some people struggle more elegantly.

**Top Tip #5:** Study Mike Salton and Claire Smyth's scorecard - it reads like a bipolar weather forecast. Brilliant sections followed by sections that make you wonder if they were temporarily replaced by their evil twins. This is trials DNA. Accept that you'll have both Jekyll and Hyde moments, preferably not on the same section.

## Round Three: The Final Humbling The third round average of 26 points suggests either the sections developed a conscience or Darwin's theory was working overtime and only the competent crews remained. More likely, the optimists had gone home to reconsider their hobby choices, leaving the masochists to finish the job.

### Consistency: The Boring Superpower George Watson and Victoria Watson showed what consistency looks like when it's not being dramatic for social media. Their scores were as steady as a metronome and twice as reliable. No spectacular crashes, no miracle recoveries, just the kind of dependable performance that wins trials and makes good marriage material.

**Top Tip #6:** The Watson approach is the trials equivalent of sensible underwear - not exciting, but it gets the job done and doesn't let you down when you need it most. Aim for solid, repeatable performances rather than the occasional moment of genius followed by an interpretive dance with a gorse bush.

## The Tiebreak Drama: When Mathematics Gets Personal Two tiebreaks decided final positions, both coming down to clean sections count. Mike Salton beat George Watson by one clean (5 to 4), which is the competitive equivalent of winning a photo finish by the length of your nose hair. John Cole edged Stephen Barnes 3 to 2, proving that sometimes it really is the small victories that count.

**Top Tip #7:** Clean sections are rarer than honest politicians and more valuable than vintage wine. A clean doesn't just save points - it's a confidence injection and potential tiebreaker. Sometimes accepting a small score is better than gambling for glory and ending up with a score that needs scientific notation to express properly.

## The Casualties: Learning from Strategic Retreats Three crews didn't make it to the finish, including Simon Kingsley and Matthew Kingsley who wisely decided after Round One that they had better things to do with their Sunday, like reorganizing their sock drawer or watching paint dry. Stuart Beare and Sue Underwood also exercised the better part of valor.

**Top Tip #8:** Knowing when to quit is like knowing when to stop eating at a buffet - it's a skill that can save you considerable pain and expense. If your car sounds like a cement mixer having an argument with itself, there's always another trial. Your gearbox will send you a thank-you card, and your bank manager might actually smile.

## Class Analysis: Choosing Your Weapon of Self-Destruction The Red Independent class hogged the podium positions like celebrities at a photo opportunity, claiming four of the top six spots. This suggests either they were particularly well-suited to the venue or they'd made some sort of pact with the trial gods (check the small print on those entry forms).

**Top Tip #9:** Study the class results like you're cramming for an exam you forgot about. If Live axle cars are consistently performing interpretive dance routines on certain sections, there might be specific techniques that work better for different suspension types. Pattern recognition isn't just for detectives and conspiracy theorists

## The Rookie Reality Check: Baptism by Fire Hose Alan Carr and Sharren Carr finished 16th with 117 points in Rookie Live class - a result that proves you can survive your first proper trial and live to tell embarrassing stories about it. Graham Wilson and Frank Wilson managed 19th with 131 points, demonstrating that rookie doesn't have to mean roadkill.

**Top Tip #10:** If you're new to trials, finishing anywhere in the middle of the pack at a venue like this is like passing your driving test on the first attempt - statistically impressive and worthy of celebration. Everyone was struggling; the difference was some people had learned to struggle with style.

## Technical Observations (Or: Where It All Went Wrong) Section 5 was clearly the section equivalent of that one friend who always suggests "one more drink" at 2 AM - consistently causing problems across all rounds. Meanwhile, Sections 7 and 8 in Round One were relatively generous, probably feeling guilty about what was coming later.

**Top Tip #11:** Pay attention to which sections consistently make grown adults question their life choices. These are where technique matters more than horsepower, and where watching the experts is more educational than a documentary about quantum physics.

## Advanced Techniques (Or: How to Fail More Efficiently) Looking at the top performers, they weren't necessarily avoiding all the difficult sections - they were just failing at them more efficiently. It's the difference between gracefully stumbling and falling down the stairs like a sack of hammers.

**Top Tip #12:** Trials reward the tortoise over the hare, the accountant over the artist, and the boring over the brilliant. Your goal isn't to impress the marshals with your bravery - it's to bore them with your competence. Save the heroics for when you're safely in the pub afterward.

## The Final Wisdom (Such As It Is) The Geoff Taylor proved that trials are 10% skill, 20% preparation, 30% luck, and 40% pure, bloody-minded determination to finish what you started even when every sensible part of your brain is screaming at you to go home. Thomas Bricknell and Beth Carroll's victory came not from spectacular driving that would make highlight reels, but from consistently intelligent choices that kept them out of trouble longer than everyone else. It's the difference between being a trials hero and being a trials survivor - and survivors get to come back next weekend.

**The Ultimate Truth:** At a trial like this, finishing is winning, middle of the pack is a moral victory, and top ten is cause for proper celebration (possibly involving champagne and definitely involving telling everyone who'll listen). The Geoff Taylor Memorial doesn't give up its secrets easily, mainly because it's too busy laughing at your attempts to extract them.

**Next Time Strategy:** More preparation, less optimism, realistic expectations, and perhaps a backup hobby that doesn't involve expensive mechanical components and the constant possibility of public humiliation. *Remember: It's not about the glory - it's about having better stories to tell than the people who stayed home and did sensible things with their weekend.*