There has been confusion in recent times about the difference between a ‘Road Trial’ and a ‘Reliability Trial’. Simply put, there is no difference! Reliability Trials’ are the same as what was commonly called a ‘Road Trial’.
‘Reliability Trials’ have been around for many years, and were commonly known as ‘Road Trials’. These events were run mainly on the roads due to the machinery used at the time. With off-road specific bikes starting to appear in the 60’s, competition was able to venture off-road more than before. Endurance events became bigger and ‘Reliability Trials’ rules were developed further concentrating on rider endurance and machine reliability. These days the term ‘Road Trial’ is outdated as all competitive stages are held off-road on natural terrain in private property, the roads are only used as a transport link much the same as a car rally. These events have been known as Reliability Trials for over 20 years now, to avoid the misinterpretation of promoting racing on public roads.
Since 2011 the Reliability Trials Championship Series is known as ‘SART’ South Australian Reliability Trials’ Championship.
The longest running Reliability Trial in Australia is the ‘The 24hour Trial‘ and is where all the other trials were derived.
