Italian Outdoor Championship Cava Dei Tirreni, Italy
By TMX Archives on 3rd Mar 08
James Dabill opened the defence of his Italian outdoor title with a dominant victory at the first round of the 2008 series held in Southern Italy earlier today. Fresh from his win at the Brianza two-day trial last weekend, James was in no mood to surrender his grip on a championship he won for the first time last season.
The eight round series is regarded as one of the best domestic championships in Europe, and proved to be a good testing ground for Dabill last year ahead of his World championship campaign. Unusually it was James' younger team mate Andrea Vaccaretti who followed him home on this ocassion, with the much more experienced Fabio Lenzi only managing third place this time out.
Three laps of ten sections greeted the riders, with all the hazards featuring dry rocks and no variation of any kind. Dabill's strategic approach meant he took control of the event from the very first lap, to hold an early lead, which he never looked like losing during the six tense hours of competition.
James needed just a single dab on his first visit to the sections, his one mark loss coming in the seventh hazard after he veered off line as he crested the large rock step. The second lap saw Dabill remain feet up throughout, however he was to incur his only maximum of the trial when he was deemed to have knocked out a poorly secured marker early in section nine.
Slightly angry with this judgement, James completed his third and final lap with a point to prove, and this he duly did as he rode all ten sections without being penalised once. Three near perfect laps saw Dabill run out a comfortable winner some thirteen marks ahead of his nearest rival Vaccaretti.
Dabill will once again remain in Italy, ahead of his next two indoor events that will take place on Thursday and Saturday of the forthcoming week.
A delighted Dabill stated: "Two wins in two weeks is a great start to the outdoor season, and is just what I am looking for ahead of the World championship which begins later this month.”
"To win by such a clear margin again is also a great confidence boost and confirms that the work we have done as a team over the winter months is already paying off. The most important thing now is to make sure that I can continue this kind of form throughout the year.”
Italian Outdoor Championship Round 1 02/03/08. Cava Dei Tirreni, Italy
Results –
1: James Dabill
1+5+0=6
2: Andrea Vaccaretti
11+4+4=19
3: Fabio Lenzi
5+15+7=27
4: Diego Bosis
14+8+7=29
5: Michele Orizio
15+8+7+4T=34
6: Matteo Grattarola
15+9+11=35
7: Micheal Brown
16+6+11+3T=36
8: Daniele Maurino
16+9+11=36
Championship to date:
1: Dabill 20
2: Vaccaretti 17
3: Lenzi 15
4: Bosis 13