Latest News

15.03.24

We had our Annual General Meeting on Tuesday 12th March and a very successful meeting it was!  We would like to congratulate Joel Sadler on being nominated as President Elect.  He will take over from the wonderful Andy Townson next year as President.  Joel has been with the club for a number of years and has given so much of his time and enthusiasm in helping the committee take the club forward.  

Everyone else has agreed to remain in their current roles so here’s to another successful year of trialling.

Acklams Beta are happy to continue sponsoring the Summer Series and Neil Gaunt from Riverside Quarries Ltd has kindly agreed to sponsor our Easy and Beginner Series Trials this year.  Thank you to Joel, Paul and Neil for their support as it is very much appreciated.

We have 3 new committee members to welcome; Amy Galloway as our new Trophy and Championship Results Secretary, Wayne Galloway and Ted Storrow.  Our committee is welcoming and friendly and anyone is welcome at our meetings, at any time.

We are still looking for a trials report writer but for now, Wayne has kindly agreed to have a go at creating some newspaper reports and be responsible for sending them off to the various publications.

The Kirkby Xmas Trial proved very successful and after the final count is in we can confirm that we are able to donate a huge £5500 to Yorkshire Air Ambulance and Ripon Community House.  Ripon Motor Club are going to donate a further £1500 to charity on behalf of the club and our landowners.  As soon as the charity is confirmed we will notify everyone.

Insurance is once again going up but we are keeping our membership and trials entries fees at the same price as 2023.  All our trials will always have portable toilets on site and we pay each of our observers £10 plus we give them a £5 meal token.  We are always in need of observers so if you feel you can help us, please get in touch.

21.12.23

Our Annual Kirkby Charity Xmas Trial was a huge success again!  We always look back on the day and evaluate what we did well and what we can improve upon.  As a committee we are quite critical of ourselves and always want to do better so we are looking forward to next years Kirkby Trial and will aim to make the whole process behind the scenes more seamless and improve the experience for the riders both before and during the event.

As soon as we have totted up all the expenditure and income we will let you know how much we raised.  Thanks again for your unwavering support of this event and indeed of our club.   We couldn’t have done any of it without the commitment and dedication of the team behind the scenes and especially the Mawer family who go above and beyond to help this trial run.

Updated results are on the results section of this website.

Adult Social and Presentation Evening

We are so pleased to bringing you a night of good music, good food, good drink and good company!  Local band Late Night Radio are providing the entertainment, local lad Simon Swiers is providing the hog roast (with a vegetarian alternative), we are providing the bar and presentation and you are providing the great company and atmosphere.  So, what are you waiting for?

Click the link below to book your tickets and at only £15 per person, you are going to have a great night!

Link to Book Tickets and pay: https://forms.office.com/r/3M1CQatC0M

JOINING OUR CLUB

Are you wanting to renew your membership for 2024, or indeed wanting to join our club for the first time?  If so, please click on the link below.  Membership is £10 per year and you will need to be a member of a club to renew your ACU Licence or join the ACU.

LINK TO JOIN THE CLUB: https://acu.sport80.com/public/wizard/a/1550

This link is the only way of joining.  If you try any other way, your membership will be rejected as payment won’t be taken.  Please contact Sarah or Clare if you have any issues and they will do their best to help you.

We have created a step by step guide to renewing your CLUB MEMBERSHIP.  CLICK HERE to view it.

Provisional Dates

Our Provisional Dates are on this website under the EVENTS section.  We have tried our best to avoid any clashes with any other local clubs as we want to ensure you are all able to ride the trials you want.  If clashes can’t be avoided we have tried our best to put a different kind of trial on so riders don’t have to choose.  We have based the dates on what has ran in other clubs in 2023 as some clubs hadn’t got their dates out when we did our yearly plan.

Entry fees are remaining the same as 2023 and our membership cost is also remaining the same.  The ACU are increasing the cost of a day membership so you will be better off purchasing an annual licence for £20 from the ACU.

We look forward to seeing you all in 2024 and all that is left is to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a healthy and happy 2024.

Ripon Motor Club was founded in 1909 and is a small, friendly Trials Club catering for all ages and abilities.  We are affiliated to the Yorkshire Centre of the ACU.

To ride our trials you will need to be a current member of the club and also a member of the ACU.

 A Brief History of our Club

Tom Ellis was a stalwart member of the Ripon Motorcycle Club along with his wife Mary, who did much of the paperwork associated with Tom’s interests.  He first discovered motorbikes in 1940 with a 150cc Francis Barnet.  However, the war and the Royal Navy intervened until 1945 when a 350cc Panther was purchased to compete in trials, an interest of his brother Jack.  The Panther didn’t last long and was replaced with a new 500cc Matchless.  Tom soon started to have some good results on this bike and was occasionally included in the works team.

Unfortunately, Tom’s brother Jack passed away at a trial and Tom decided to organise a trial in his name, The Jack Leslie Ellis Memorial Trial, which continues today.

Tom continued to ride and had success in the 1947 Scottish Six Day (SSDT) with a 10th place and an 8th place in 1948.  He was also 2nd in the British Experts Trial which was no mean achievement.  A Royal Enfield was obtained for a ride in the 1950 Welsh ISDT but mechanical failure caused a retirement and a subsequent works BSA ride was negotiate

Tom became a valued rider in the team and competed at the highest level, ISDT medals representing Great Britain and gaining many awards in trials at home and abroad.  The Scott Trial was a regular and favourite ride and he collected 12 Silver Spoons in 14 rides.  Joint 7th was his highest total, which again is no mean feat for any trials rider!  Tom also enjoyed the SSDT and was seen in the company of Arthur Lampkin at the Pre-65, apparently the journey to Fort William in Arthur’s Porsche was something of an adrenaline rush for him!

In 1956 Tom retired to Ripon where he opened a motorcycle shop and became active in the Club.  He also became interested in the sport of car trials and tests, driving with great verve and commitment, as he always did.  He observed in many trials but will be remembered by the riders at his favourite section, on the Fleetham’s farm down by the bridge.  Sadly he will not have seen it in its new rebuilt form, but it will still be “Tom’s Bridge”.