#ThrowbackThursday

Fort Williams and the Highlands region of Scotland have been welcoming Trial riders since 1909 – and still welcome them today. Unlike the International Six Days’ Trial, the SSDT have always remained an international independent event, welcoming essentially Scottish – well…British riders for a long time.

The first foreign rider who won the Scottish event was Finn Yrjo Vesterinen in 1980. But the counting system appointing a winner and a proper classification was introduced in 1932! One of the reasons is that at the beginning there was no section at all and the only penalty was to fall away from the time schedule! This picture shows British rider Len Heath, riding a 497cc Ariel. He won the event in 1933.

There are many visible differences which help to measure the development of this sport… However it would take more than 30 years for a European Championship of Trial to be created.

Text Marc Pétrier – Photo FIM/Christopher Lavery Collection