EAST Morton landlord Martin Crosswaite took a break off working at his hostelry to win the coveted Stan Cox Memorial Trophy Trial at Pateley Bridge.

The former youth trials star showed he can still deliver against the best and he did just that in lofty Bayliss Gap Farm woods on Sunday, defeating national S3 Parts Champion Richard Sadler, who is also British Expert title holder.

The event, a qualifying trial in the Yorkshire Centre Championship, proved to be a cliff-hanger test of nerves.

Crosswaite blasted his powerful Montesa through 14 Patrick Darbyshire-plotted sections without penalty on lap one without penalty but Richard Sadler had to accept one penalty in the 12th section on his first lap.

That one mark decided the destination of the Stan Cox Trophy. Crosswaite, through 24 sections, lost one mark in section 11.

Both main contenders tied on one penalty but the rider who travels the farthest with penalty wins the inevitable tie-break decider.

Leeds expert Liam Walker was right in the thick of the action but one mark in John Hinchcliffe’s fourth section on lap one did not instigate a triple tie-break as the Gas Gas rider also dropped a boot in section 12.

Skipton’s Aran Drachenberg was vocal about his brand new 2019 Beta Eva machine until a fellow competitor knocked it over while it was parked near a section.

The crash broke off the front brake lever but a raid on the Sadler transporter produced a loan lever and helped ‘Drach’ to fourth place overall.

Local favourite Danny Gamble was on lap one in section three when the rear tyre on his Sherco machine became detached.

Yeadon’s Louis Haley was the only Inter and won the class while East Keswick ‘giant killer’ Harry Hemingway won the youth class and was a mere single penalty behind current Centre champion Sam Yeadon.

Clubman A featured Liversedge engineer Jamie Stephenson ironically riding a Montesa who headed Neil Gaunt and Ilkley heating engineer Andy Tales.

A stop in section 11 for Stephenson and similar for Tales but in the easy second section where Jill Harker watched Tales struggle on the tight muddy turn, and stop. True to form, the younger Hemingway – George ran away with youth class from Scorton’s Elliott Laws and Henry Stephenson.

At least one Sadler hit the sweet spot where Paul Sadler won a tie breaker with Burnley’s Darren Mitchell after Phillip Hammond incurred a total of five marks on the narrow slippery climb, where Skipton’s Mick Shorrock officiated.

Top marks to Clerk of Course Patrick Darbyshire who plotted a testing but not severe trials course in dense forestry and vegetation where, fortunately, the ground was firm.

Results: Championship class: Experts: 1 Martin Crosswaite (Montesa) 1, 2 Richard Sadler (Beta) 1, 3 Liam Walker (Gas Gas) 2. Inters: Louis Haley (Montesa) 13. Youth Class A: Harry Hemingway (Beta) 23. Clubman A: 1 Jamie Stephenson (Montesa) 4, 2 Neil Gaunt (Beta) 8, 3 Andrew Tales (Beta) 12. Youth Class A: George Hemingway 18, 2 Elliott Laws 26, 3 Henry Stephenson 41. All Beta). Clubman B: 1 Paul R Sadler (Beta) 13, 2 Darren Mitchell (Montesa) 13, 3 Phillip Hammond (Sherco) 15. Youth Class B nc: Lucy Ayrton (TRS) 125.