'Forgotten' man Sheppard set for fresh challenge
By Team TMX on 27th Jan 16
AS recently as 2011, Jack Sheppard was Britains brightest trials prospect.Jack had been crowned World Youth Champion and was all set to capitalise on this success and move up through the rankings in the World Cup and then take on the established aces in the full World Championship
The future really couldn't have looked better.
But life seldom goes to plan and Jack has had to cope with several setbacks, such as a serious debilitating bone issue in his wrist which effectively cost him the 2012 season.
Then, after getting back on track through 2013/14, a 2015 season which promised much on a factory Jotagas unfortunately didn't pan out anything like he envisaged.
A proposed 2016 ride in a privately-run Swiss World Championship team which hoped to run semi-factory Montesas – similar to those supplied for young Swede Eddie Karlsson – failed to materialise and Jack, still only 22, suddenly found himself without a ride.
Having rarely competed in Britain, due to his commitment to riding at the highest possible level, riding and training as much as possible in Spain, Jack knows he had become something of a ‘forgotten man' in his home country.
Then a quick call to John Lampkin at Beta UK has brought Jack ‘back home' and 2016 will see him riding a full season in Blighty, including the British Championships, Scottish Six Days and plenty of Nationals in between.
Said Jack, when we caught up with him at John Lampkin's Silsden base: "Apart from 2015 I have always ridden Beta and I just wanted to get on a bike I felt at home on straight away and get my name back out there and hopefully get some results.”
So, as Jack returns to his roots to effectively make a fresh start in trials in Britain we take a look at the story so far...
Jack hails from Ipswich, in the flatlands of East Anglia and about as far away from ideal trials riding country as you can get.
His dad, Mark, was a keen club rider and as soon as his lads Aaron and Jack were old enough he got them bikes and six-year-old Jack found himself, as have so many others, learning to ride and competing on a Yamaha TY80.
He was soon showing plenty of form and several Eastern Centre enthusiasts were urging Mark to get him onto the National scene, which would improve his skills on different types of terrain.
So off they went and the short version of Jack's Youth career is that after finishing a fine fourth in his first year in Youth D class, on an 80cc Gas Gas, he went on to win British Championships in Youth C, B and A classes – all achieved on 125cc Beta machinery.
The World Championship quest began in 2010 – obviously on Beta machinery.
And after a very promising ‘learning' season Jack found himself taking a close second place in the series to Pol Tarres – nephew of seven-times World Champion Jordi Tarres – and took wins in Japan, Britain, France and the final round in the Czech Republic.
There was only one result to aim for in 2011 and that was the World Youth Championship.
And Jack didn't disappoint, running ran away with the title with six wins and never finishing off the podium, with a worst result of third in Germany.
He won the last three rounds he contested on the bounce to take the title with the two-day European round still to be run. Unfortunately, a debilitating problem with a bone in his right wrist had been causing him big problems.
It wasn't an injury, it was a condition. The bone in his wrist was suffering from a lack of blood flow and was consequently weakened and was actually breaking up, causing a lack of strength and pain along with it.
He eased his way through the season as best he could and then went for an operation that would hopefully provide a full and permament cure.
The good news is that the surgery worked and Jack reports that his wrist is now strong, the pain has gone and it is no longer an issue. The bad news is that it took the best part of 12 months to fully heal.
Jack said: "The 2012 season was really frustrating. The wrist was really weak and it just took forever to heal. There was virtually nothing I could do to speed up the process.
"I was training hard and making sure it got plenty of blood pumped round but the only real cure was time.
"I kept trying to ride and did complete the full World Cup season but with no strength in the wrist I was nowhere near able to give my all.”
Nevertheless, sixth place in the World Cup was not to be sneezed at when you see that the winner was Sherco factory star Alexandre Ferrer, Vertigo signing Francesc Moret, Pol Tarres was fourth and Jorge Casales (who contested the British Champs last season) fifth. It was a hard slog for Jack but he kept plugging away, willing the wrist to get back to full strength.
"I simply couldn't practice, I was just riding the events to do my best and to keep as sharp as I could but riding really took it out of my wrist and I spent the week after an event recovering the strength in it,” admitted Jack.
Still on Beta, 2013 saw Jack again attack the World Cup and in a stiff year's competition finished fourth (and top Beta) behind Casales, Tarres and Moret.
He had a really strong start to the season and won early rounds in Japan and the USA proving that he travels well and was on the podium five times. After five rounds Jack was leading the series but Casales and Tarres then came good while Moret only eased past Jack to steal third from Jack at the death.
"It might not have been an amazing end to the season but I'm still pretty pleased at how I did against really strong opposition, fourth was a hard fought result,” claims Jack.
But the apprenticeship in the feeder Youth and World Cup classes had been served and for 2014 it was the full World Championship for the East Anglian rider.
"The World Championship is a massive step up from World Cup not just in terms of rider skill, which is immense, but in terms of the professionalism required to compete at that level,” said Jack.
"You do need the back-up of a team to allow you to concentrate on riding as the sections are so extreme.
"And you have also got to get your head around really fighting for a top-ten placing, not going for the win like in the Youth and World Cup.
You know what's coming and I was under no illusions but you still can't prepare yourself for what happens. It is one huge learning curve.
"But it is what I wanted to do and why I committed myself to the World Championships, which is why I haven't been riding regularly in Britain.
"When not riding World Championship events I wanted to keep aiming higher and practising at the highest level with the top riders.”
Which brings us to 2015 and Jack's decision to take up the offer of a factory Jotagas.
"Like I said, the top level is so much more professional. I was promised factory bikes and a mechanic/ minder and factory back-up,” added Jack.
"I genuinely saw this as the chance to take me to the next level, to put me on a more level footing with the other guys. "The trouble was it just never happened.
"I'm not blaming anyone, I believe it was done with the best intentions, but Jotagas is a small operation and in the end I guess they just couldn't spare the bikes or the staff to help me.
"I only had one bike all year and no mechanic so I was essentially on my own again.
"I really did my best, living in Spain either at the factory or at Jordi Pasquet's house, but in the end it was all down to just me again.
"The bike is actually really good as a production model but you need something a bit special for World Championship events. It turned into a very frustrating year.”
"At the end of 2015 I was helped financially to finish the season by a Swiss enthusiast and he put together exciting plans for a full two-man World Championship team with Montesa machinery like the bikes used by Eddie Karlsson.
"This sounded good and I was really enthused. I started practising on my dad's old Montesa to get a feel but mainly to keep fit but three-months later and there was no sign of the bikes.
"It wasn't his fault, Montesa seemed to change their mind on supplying bikes.
"I just thought, this is no good, I'm going have to do something as I just want to get back riding and so I rang John Lampkin.
"He was really good and came up with a plan straight away for me to ride back in Britain.”
John added: "I'm more than happy to help Jack, we have a long history.
"I think he has had some real bad luck over the last few years with the injury and last year and maybe it is time to re-focus.
"I just want him to get back to having fun on his bike. You can definitely try too hard and I think Jack has done this in the past.
"He has made himself ill with too much practice and put a lot of pressure on himself to get results. If he enjoys his trials then the results will come and we will take it from there.”
Jack said: "It will be something of a novelty riding a full season in Britain.
"But don't forget I have done British championships before. I finished fourth in 2014 after a good battle with Alexz Wigg and rode four Scottish Six Days but there are loads of Nationals I've not been to.
"Riding events like the Scottish is not easy after World Championships. The sections are so different, you never see a slippery stream in the World Champs. Look at Cabestany for instance, he had a go at the Scottish and didn't really get his head around it.
"After a few days you get the hang of the streams but to win you have to be on it right from the first section.
"It is really competitive over here with James Dabill, Michael Brown, Alexz Wigg, Sam Haslam, Iwan Roberts, Ross Danby and others. Getting results in Nationals will be just as hard as scoring World Championship points.
"There are a lot of really good lads in Britain who ride very competitively but also have a good time.
"Richard Sadler, Guy Kendrew, James Stones, Luke Walker and Dan Thorpe are all proven regular National winners and take no prisoners. But they have a laugh and really enjoy their day and I'm looking forward to getting involved in the British Nationals.
"A lot of it will be new to me, which is good. I'm really up for the challenge!”
