World Trials Championship
Round 4 – Motegi, Japan
 James
Dabill experienced a trial of two laps on the first of two
days of competition at the impressive Twin Ring Motegi circuit
north of Tokyo in Japan. He started exceptionally well, but
began to drop marks as he made small mistakes, which would
mean that he finished the day’s trial in seventh place,
a result that he feels should have been better considering
the positive start he made to the day.
James was the first rider to clean the second section of
the event, which included a particularly tricky climb up an
earth bank, with several directions changes en route. As he
rode out of the section, the crown showed their appreciation
with a huge cheer. In fact, Dabill was one of only two riders
to clean that section throughout the entire day, the other
being eventual winner, Toni Bou.
However, he went on to record a five on section eight, which
featured a huge man-made tree obstacle at the top of a dirt
climb. Two more fives, including one where he inadvertently
snapped the marking tape, at section ten, followed this.
His second lap was a complete contrast to the first. By his
own admission, everything that went well on the first lap
was a problem second time around, and vice versa. On section
two, which he cleaned first time, his front wheel hit a tree
stump and he was unable to take a dab to keep the bike moving
forward, so he picked up an early five here. Then, on the
fourth hazard, which featured a series of concrete culverts
buried in the hillside, and where he lost a dab on the first
lap, he found himself drifting to the right and lost his balance,
for yet another five.
He also suffered a bad five on section twelve, when his sumpguard
hit a slab buried just under the loose surface. This stopped
his Future TRW Montesa Cota 4RT in its tracks and he was unable
to get any grip to keep the bike moving forward. He also admitted
to feeling that the bike may have been damaged in the process,
the force of the impact being sufficient to move the slab
several inches.
However, despite the problems, James was not overly disappointed.
“I’ve really enjoyed today. It’s been hard
work and a strange kind of day, but it’s been a very
good trial. I was quite surprised that everything I did right
on the first lap I did wrong on the second, but that’s
how it is sometimes. But overall, I have to remember that
this is only my second year in the World champonship and to
be beating people like Marc Freixa gives me a lot of confidence.
I feel that I am progressing well at the moment and there’s
more to come.”
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