Experience triumphed over youthful exuberance on Saturday at the Ilkley Grand National trial on Middleton and Beamsley Moors when East Keswick golf course builder Ben Hemingway won the old established Ilkley Motor Club event with a mixture of care and pace.

The young charger was Leeds teenager Henry Moorhouse riding one of past winner Malcolm Rathmell's Spanish Bultaco machines and he set a pace that even past winner Andy Cripps could not match taking one hour and40 minutes to cover three 12 mile laps of the ditches, rough moorland and deep marshes.

For the first time the organisers allowed clubmen standard riders to cover a shorter two lap course and the honours went to Otley's Gerald Rathmell, brother of past title holder Malcolm. Only six riders failed to make the distance out of a total of 52 starters.

Results: Winner - Ben Hemingway (GP Beta) 14. Experts: 1, Nathan Wrigglesworth (Montesa) 24; 2, Henry Moorhouse (MRS Bultaco) 31; 3, Anthony Ayrton (Montesa) 45. Fastest Expert: Andy Cripps (Montesa). Intermediates:1, David Watson (Yamaha) 88; 2, Richard Spencer (Beta) 94. Fastest Inter: Keiran Hankin (Beta). Novices: 1, Liam Walker (Gas Gas) 67; 2, Mark Sunter (Gas Gas) 69; 3, Stephen Walker (Gas Gas) 88.

Best first timer - Adam Challoner (Montesa) 110. Best over 40 - Ian Myers (Bultaco) 98. Best Ilkley DMC member - David Carr (Gas Gas) 297. Best Bradford DMC or West Leeds DMC novice - Stephen Walker. Best team - Bradford No 1: Ayrton-Wrigglesworth-Spencer, total 163.

Clubmen: 1, Gerald Rathmell (Montesa) 67; 2, Tom Lancaster 72; 3, John Holdsworth 78.

Standard time-average fastest ten finishers: 1hr 51mins 28 seconds.

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.