Classic trial
Form of off-road motor sports
Classic trials, or colloquially mud plugging, is one of the oldest forms of rallying or off-road motor sports, dating from the beginning of the 20th century. Originally, the challenge was just to complete a long (challenging) road course. All three Motor Cycling Club long distance trials in the UK , the Land's End, the Exeter and the Edinburgh , date from that time, and are still held today.
As vehicles became more reliable, the events became easier and the concept of observed non-stop sections was introduced. On these, the car or motorcycle is stopped at the foot of a hill and has to make a non-stop ascent.
On a classic trial today, there will typically be around fifteen of such "observed sections", mixed with between 40 and 400 miles of road course.
Specific forms of car trials are PCTs (production car trials), for (road legal) production cars with minimal modification, and on the other hand sporting trials for special "flyweight" vehicles. These trials are restricted to one off-road trial route, without any road mileage sections.
Sources and credits
This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Classic trial”, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.
Images, from Wikimedia Commons:
- Simms Exeter 2004 1954 HRG Volvo.JPG by User Fourwheeldrift on en.wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0
- 1954 M & L Trials Special (5957428728).jpg by sv1ambo, CC BY 2.0
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