Dabill turns quali win into podium
By Team TMX on 31st May 17
British champion James Dabill emerged as the hero of the new timed qualification section at TrialGP Japan, the Gas Gas rider coming out on top with the only clean ride of the session.
Introduced this year by new championship promoter Sport7, the section is designed to level the playing field at rounds of the FIM Trial World Championship by decided starting order on performance rather than on riders' rankings from the previous year.
The old system handed the top three a massive theoretical advantage which has now been proved to be an actual advantage as Dabill converted his qualifying performance into second overall on day one in Japan, matching his career-best result.
Any ties on observation in the qualifying section are decided on time and Dabill – who was last to go following the qualification ballot – watched all his rivals bar Jeroni Fajardo and Toni Bou pick up threes and fives.
"I was watching the riders closely and there were a lot of mistakes made,” he said, "but when Jeroni had a one I knew it was possible to go clean and once I was through the hardest part I just took it steady.”
With highly-fancied runners including Adam Raga and Albert Cabestany – second and third at the Spanish opener – struggling, Dabill was then able to shadow Bou through the opening day and despite a run of five maximums on lap two finish as runner-up.
"I've matched my career-best result so I'm really, really happy,” said Dabill. "Starting last was a big help and I used it to my advantage, especially on the first lap. It was close in the end but we did enough on the first lap.
"I never thought it was slipping away from me because I knew the sections were getting a lot slippier. The only man who looked good all day was Toni so I wasn't worried, had a bit of a chat to myself and from section 10 onwards held it together.”
In contrast Raga, who was fifth away, finished the trial in fifth – his lowest position for five years – and Cabestany, who was seventh away, ended the day back in eighth.
