Motorcycle trials

[1] The event is split into sections where a competitor rides through an obstacle course while attempting to avoid touching the ground with their feet.

In many local observed trials events, the sections are divided into separate courses to accommodate the different skill level of riders, who compete in skill-rated classes.

Each time a competitor touches the ground with a foot (commonly called "dabs" or "prods"), the penalty is one point.

If they touch the ground three or more times, they earn a score of 3—as long as they complete the section without stalling the motor, dismounting, going out of bounds, or going backward.

Previous observed trials greats include Northern Ireland's Sammy Miller (1960s), Finland's Yrjö Vesterinen (1970s) and Belgium's Eddy Lejeune (1980s).

However, it was recently dropped by the Federation Internationale de Motocyclisme as a name for its observed trials competitions.

The British Championship is the highest level of competition, held over 10 rounds with 3 difficulty levels; Clubman, Intermediate & Expert, with the Expert class championship winner being named British Sidecar Trials Champion.

Long distance trials competitions involve a carefully planned route for the competitors to follow, making stops at various locations over a broad area, rather than at just one venue.

However, these trials can also be expected to have time limits which raise the added possibility of riders incurring penalty points for not completing a particular section or arriving at a destination within the allotted timeframe.