Forklifts' trials test

The Indoor Trial World Championship attracts the best motorcycle trial riders in the world.

Leading competitors test their skills in six rounds held around the globe throughout the year for the right to take part in the event's climax – the final in Madrid at the end of the season.

The UK heat took place at the Sheffield Arena in early January.

Competitors had to negotiate a number of rounds – each of which featured a series of obstacles made up of anything from building skips to natural rocks and logs weighing up to 3 tonnes.

For each round, the course layout had to be changed to ensure that the riders' skills were fully challenged.

With several thousand spectators inside the Sheffield Arena and a global television audience of several million watching a live broadcast of the event, heat organiser and course builder, Avondale Management, needed reliable materials handling equipment on site to ensure that the various obstacles were manoeuvred into position between rounds quickly and safely.

Jungheinrich UK Ltd supplied two, 3-tonne capacity diesel-powered counterbalanced models from its short-term rental fleet. One of the trucks was fitted with 1.8 metre forks to handle some of the awkwardly shaped obstacles.

The diesel trucks waited 'in the wings' while each round took place, then went in to action.

Avondale Management's Martin Lampkin commented: "The UK heat featured 8 individual sections and, with only approximately 15 minutes between each one to reconfigure the course, the forklifts had to perform!"

Jungheinrich UK Ltd has over 4000 forklifts, telehandlers and other plant available for short term rental and the average age of the trucks in the fleet is less than two years old.