Dabill's Brimming with joy!
By TMX Archives on 5th Aug 09
JAMES Dabill got one hand firmly on the 2009 British Solo Trials Championship trophy on Sunday with a convincing win in the penultimate round of the eight-round series, the MacKenzie Trophy, a tough event staged by Yeadon Guiseley and DMC at its fabulous Brimham Rocks venue, near Pateley Bridge, in Yorkshire.
Dabill fought-off the weakening effects of a bout of sickness that began on Friday and carried-on through Saturday and into Sunday to thwart the efforts of a confident-looking Michael Brown who really needed to win in order to keep the pressure on his friend and rival going into the final round in Kent in September. Up to the third and final lap the result could have gone either way with Dibs holding a single mark advantage after the first lap while Browny edged things three marks his way on the second.
However, a disastrous start to the final lap for the Sherco factory rider when he dropped 15 marks in the first three sections combined with Dabill posting a stunning lap of just eight saw John Shirt's Gas Gas team leader take the win and become a massive favourite to lift his first ever adult British Championship.
The 12 section course, to be lapped three times, set over the imposing boulders on the steep, slippery wooded hillside, was quite a stunner and gained its first victim on the morning's practice lap when Dougie Lampkin crashed and was rushed to hospital with a hand injury (see separate story).
The biggest crowd of the series by far gathered to witness the battle over World Championship style sections and it soon emerged that Dabill and Brown were at it head to head with Beta's Alexz Wigg, the only other rider to have won a round this year not able to quite get involved, at least not on the opening two laps.
The opening hazard was easy enough with its stop start, turn, step, turn format out in the open before the sections plunged into the shadow of the trees and the real action began.
Not only were the sections very steep, technical and slippery with wet earth after prolonged rain, they were also very long so there was no time for hanging around or taking a breather.
The second and third sections were really hard and in the second, only Brown and Jack Challoner managed to make the Ends cards for threes while Wigg had a pretty big crash backwards while rushing the final step as his time ticked-away, luckily without too much damage. He recovered to take a brilliant clean on the third section which was matched only by the winner on the opening lap. The only other Champ-ionship class riders to make it up this one were Sam Haslam, with a two, and the hard-working George Morton.
All the sections followed the same technical format and all required plenty of skill and commitment. The seventh featured a monster, steeply angled rock slab where Minders were provided with a rope to anchor themselves so they could grab the bike when it all went wrong. It claimed a five off all the Championship riders except for Sam Haslam who went 3-0-1, the clean coming after Browny's minder, Shaughan Galway, had ‘prepped' the slab for his own runner – who promptly fived it after Sam's brilliant ride. Michael did clean it on his two other attempts though while the Beta duo of Wigg and Challoner managed two fives and a clean each.
Brown was boss on the following eighth section, the only rider with a trio of cleans on his card.
Despite the severity of the sections Dibs and Browny both posted excellent low scores as they handed their first lap punchcards in with James just having the edge. Alexz was effectively double their scores with Challoner and Haslam pushing him hard.
The second circuit saw Brown strike back with an excellent lap of 16 being caught-out only by the seventh and then a five on the final sub which Sherco's Malcolm Rathmell was exasperated over. "He's done all the hard ones and then lost a five in the last which we didn't expect!” exclaimed Malc.
As they entered the final lap Dabill, who had been able to keep nothing down for two days due to sickness, was trying to consume ‘power gels' in order to boost his flagging energy levels. It obviously worked though as James put together a phenomenal lap in which he not only never dropped a single five he never lost a three. Just three ‘twos' and a couple of ‘ones' added up to an incredible eight mark loss and the win was in the bag.
Why? Because Browny had a traumatic start to his final lap and left the first three sections on a maximum 15. On the first section he was clicked by a very alert observer who was always on the case of a spot of ‘professional gamesmanship' by the Sherco duo as a spinning back wheel dislodged section marker flags on a slippery step. Michael then fived the tough second section and then, with everything going wrong all at once, he was caught out by the time whistle when agonisingly close to the Ends cards at section three.
Michael remained composed though and completed his lap in reasonably good form albeit a long way from Dabill's trial winning change-up. Wiggy also finished strongly with a tidy lap of 22, encouraged by Beta importer John Lampkin who was Minding as regular man Harold Crawford was out of action with a sickness bug.
ACU EVENTS BRITISH SOLO TRIALS CHAMPIONSHIP
Rd 7 – MacKenzie Trial (Yeadon Guiseley & DMC Ltd)
CHAMPIONSHIP CLASS
1 James Dabill (300 JST Gas Gas) 13 + 20 + 8 = 41
2 Michael Brown (MRS Sherco) 14 + 16 + 28 = 58
3 Alexz Wigg (Beta UK) 27 + 34 + 22 = 83
4 Jack Challoner (Beta UK) 33 + 27 + 36 = 96
5 Sam Haslam (JST Gas Gas) 34 + 36 + 37 = 107
6 Ross Danby (JST Gas Gas) 43 + 36 + 34 = 113
7 George Morton (Beta UK) 46 + 45 + 46 = 137
8 Craig Robinson (JST Gas Gas) 53 + 53 + 47 = 153
SERIES STANDINGS after 7 (of 8) rounds: 1 Dabill 130 points, 2 Brown 118, 3 Wigg 102, 4 Challoner 74, 5 Haslam 72, 6 Danby 65, 7 Morton 63, 8 Morris 52, 9 Robinson 51, 10 Lampkin 34.
EXPERT A CLASS
1 Sam Connor (290 Beta UK) 16 + 10 + 7 = 33
2 Ian Austermuhle (Beta UK) 26 + 28 + 21 = 75
3 Gary Macdonald (290 MRS Sherco) 28 + 27 + 21 = 76
4 Lee Sampson (TRC Gas Gas) 33 + 19 + 25 = 77
5 Ben Hemingway (Beta UK) 29 + 26 + 23 = 78
6 James Fry (MRS Sherco) 32 + 27 + 23 = 82
7 Michael Phillipson (Beta) 35 + 29 + 29 = 93
8 Ben Morphett (125 Beta UK) (12x0) 29 + 36 + 30 = 95
9 Jonathan Richardson (Sherco) (6x0) 35 + 32 + 28 = 95
10 Ricky Wiggins (250 Albion Gas Gas) 39 + 33 + 27 = 99
11 Jonny Walker (125 Ace Gas Gas) 28 + 38 + 36 = 102
12 Dan Thorpe (300 JST Gas Gas) 39 + 29 + 41 = 109
13 Jack Spencer (Beta UK) 42 + 43 + 40 = 125
14 Chris Pearson (290 MRS Sherco) 32 + 53 + 41 = 126
15 Dan Farrer (Gas Gas) 45 + 45 + 51 = 141
EXPERT A SERIES STANDINGS after 7 (of 8) rounds: 1 Sam Connor 137 points (CHAMPION), 2 Macdonald 94, 3 Morphett 77, 4 Sampson 74, 5 Richardson 70, 6 Austermuhle 69, 7 Fry 64, 8 Jonny Walker 59, 9 Thorpe 47, 9 Thorpe 47, 10 Hemingway 33, 11 Wibberley 33, 12 Liam Walker 24, 13 Pearson 23, 14 Jones 15, 15 Phillipson 9, 16 Spencer 7, 17 Jenkins 6, 18 Farrer 3, 19 Chilton 1.
EXPERT A 125cc SERIES STANDINGS after 7 (of 8) rounds: 1 Morphett 109 points, 2 Richardson 104, 3 Jonny Walker 99.
ACU EVENTS BRITISH SOLO TRIALS CHAMPIONSHIP
Rd 7 – MacKenzie Trial (Yeadon Guiseley & DMC Ltd)
EXPERT B CLASS
1 Ricky Wiggins (250 Albion Gas Gas) 31 + 25 + 26 = 82
2 Dan Hemingway (290 Beta UK) 34 + 24 + 26 = 84
3 John Crinson (Birkett Scorpa) (6x0) 34 + 38 + 30 = 102
4 Danny Gamble (Acklams Beta) (5x0) 35 + 34 + 33 = 102
5 Buster Regan (Beta UK) 34 + 36 + 35 = 105
6 Sam Ludgate (NBK Scorpa) 34 + 37 + 37 = 108
7 Josh Woods (Beta UK) 36 + 41 + 38 = 115
8 Daniel Greatorex (250 Gas Gas) 42 + 39 + 41 = 122
9 Josh Law (280 Gas Gas) 37 + 40 + 47 = 124
10 Zac Sherwin (250 Beta) 46 + 48 + 38 = 132
11 John Sunter (300 Montesa 4RT) 39 + 51 + 44 = 134
12 Andrew Blackman (Gas Gas) 47 + 42 + 47 = 136
13 Lee Shankie (Sherco) 50 + 44 + 44 = 138
14 Russell Rooksby (300 Gas Gas) 46 + 48 + 50 = 144
15 C Houston (Sherco) 43 + 52 + 51 = 146
SERIES STANDINGS after 7 (of 8) rounds: 1 Ludgate 116 points, 2 Crinson 113, 3 Wiggins 106, 4 Gamble 64, 5 Woods 56, 6 Blackman 47, 7 Greatorex 42, 8 Carr 36, 10 Hemingway 30, 11 Sherwin 30, 12 Law 25, 13 Brice 20, 14 Kettlewell 19, 15 Regan 18.
YOUTH SUPPORT CLASS (Non-champs)
1 Jack Sheppard (Beta UK) 22 + 33 + 24 = 79
2 Richard Sadler (MRS Sherco) 41 + 40 + 45 = 126
FINAL ROUND: September 27 – Kent Youth British Trial at Sandfields Farm, Cowden, Kent (Kent Youth TC).
FOR FULL REPORT SEE T+MX NEWS, FRIDAY, AUGUST 7, 2009
CHAMPION JUST CHAMPION: With one round still to go Sam Connor (Beta) was crowned Champion of the Expert A class after yet another winning ride in the MacKenzie Trophy Trial last weekend losing just 33 marks.