World Indoor Trials Championship Round 2
By G2F on 3rd Feb 08
James Dabill made only his second start as a permanent rider in the World indoor championship, and despite his best efforts the youngster from Leeds came off the worst in the seven-way battle. By far the least experienced competitor in this elite series, James in no way showed himself up, with some moments of brilliance in what is one of the biggest and most famous arena events on the tour.
Like most of his rivals James' night did not begin well as he fell back of the initial step of the opening section to record his first five within seconds of his lap getting underway. Dabill displayed great composure a few moments later as he completed the tricky second section feet up to get his campaign underway proper, before failing again at the third hazard.
Despite these early set backs Dabill remained confident in his approach, and this reflected in the next hazard as he became the first rider to conquer the difficult jump at the start. The large Spanish audience responded well and urged Dabill through the remainder of the section, only to see him fail within sight of the ends cards as his front wheel slipped off one of the concrete tubes.
Two-text book cleans and a steadying dab in the following three sections were at least some reward for James' efforts, and it looked like he would be rewarded further in the final section of the lap, but for a late disaster. Dabill really showed his ability as he edged his way over the massive boulders, which were surrounded by water, however a misjudgement with just two rocks to go added another five to his increasing score.
Dabill arrived in Barcelona after a mixed few days, which included a solid third place behind Raga and Fajardo in Nice on Friday night, just hours before escaping unhurt from a potentially fatal crash as he fell asleep at the wheel whilst driving back to Italy.
It's been a mad few days, which may have just taken their toll here tonight. The result is a real disappointment, and does not reflect just how well I rode in places. Unfortunately in this company you cannot make mistakes, and tonight I made two. One in section three when I failed to stop after the drop off and the other in section four when the hard work had been done.
The crash on he way back from Nice was a big escape and certainly has used up one of my nine lives. I am looking forward to a quieter week and hopefully a better showing in Granada next Saturday.
World Indoor Trials Championship Round 2 03/02/08 Barcelona, Spain
Results Final
1: Raga 15
2: Bou 18
3: Cabestany 32
Heat Qualifiers:
1: Antonio Bou (SPA-Montesa-HRC) 1,
2: Adam Raga (SPA-Gas Gas) 7 (faster time),
2: Albert Cabestany (SPA-Sherco) 7,
Non-Qualifiers:
4: Takahisa Fujinami (JPN-Montesa-HRC) 16,
5: Jeroni Fajardo (SPA-Beta) 18,
6: Dougie Lampkin (GBR-Beta) 20,
7: James Dabill (GBR-Montesa) 22
Current championship standings:
1: Bou 18 2: Raga 16,
3: Cabestany 14,
4: Fujinami 10,
5: Fajardo 8,
6: Dabill 5,
7: Lampkin 5
Next event: World Indoor Trials Championship Round 3 09/02/08 Granada, Spain