Beta Wants To Change The Way Motorcycle Trials Competition Works
Classes are out, ’80s-style sections are in, and Beta apparently decided trials needed a rules remix.
Motorcycle trials is one of those sports that's incredibly easy to understand until someone hands you the rulebook. Ride through the section, don't put your feet down, and try not to launch yourself into a tree. Simple enough, right?
But once rider classes, section markings, ability levels, and scoring come into play, things get considerably more complicated. Beta USA apparently looked at all that and decided it was time to mess with the formula.
On October 18, 2026, Beta will host what it calls a first-of-its-kind Divisional Trial Event at Donner Ski Ranch in Norden, California. The headline change is pretty substantial: there won't be traditional rider classes. Instead, Beta says the event will be open to everyone from Novice through Pro riders, with competitors ranked using an entirely new divisional scoring system. Exactly how that system works, however, hasn't been publicly explained on the event page.
Challenge The Status Quo
That's what makes the whole thing interesting. Trials competition normally separates riders by ability because asking a novice and a national-level pro to attack the same obstacles is a fairly efficient way to turn optimism into orthopedic paperwork. Beta's format appears intended to bring wildly different skill levels into the same event without relying on the conventional class structure, although we'll have to see the actual scoring rules before knowing how effectively it levels the field.
Beta is changing the sections, too. Rather than building the event around increasingly ridiculous displays of hopping, balancing, and scaling things motorcycles probably shouldn't be able to climb, the company says it'll use "1980s-style sections with good flow." That suggests a greater emphasis on carrying momentum through natural terrain, which could make the competition more approachable without necessarily making it easy.
There's also enough money involved to make this more than a casual Sunday experiment. Beta is putting up a $6,000 purse for the top three finishers in each division. Entry costs $150 and is capped at 100 riders, with Saturday practice, a spaghetti dinner and movie night, plus an event shirt and hat included. Practice runs from 9AM to 3PM Saturday, with competition beginning at 9AM Sunday.
Bikes under 80cc aren't allowed, and every motorcycle needs a USFS-approved spark arrestor and tethered safety kill switch. Three-time AMA National Trials Champion Scott Head will serve as Grand Marshal, adding some legitimate trials pedigree to an event that's otherwise built around changing the established recipe. Whether Beta's divisional format goes anywhere beyond Donner remains to be seen, but somebody has to try the weird idea before anyone knows if it's actually a good one.
Source: Beta USA
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