British Outdoor Trials Championship Round 1 Kinlochleven
James Dabill narrowly missed out on winning the opening
round of the 2008 British trials championship, when he was
defeated on a most cleans tie break by friend and rival Michael
Brown. The event held in the Scottish highlands on the banks
of Loch Leven proved to be a tough start to the series, with
the exception of the top three riders in the championship
class, everyone else recorded triple figure scores.
Dabill did not begin the day well with three fives in the
first four sections after a nervous dab in the opening hazard.
Despite this initial set back, James on board his Sandiford
supported Future TRW Montesa recovered well to hold a slim
lead after the first lap of twelve very slippery sections.
Without any further failures on his morning tour, Dabill came
in two clear of Brown and seven marks in front of Jarvis and
Haslam.
With only one brief shower during the day, sunshine created
the perfect backdrop for this scenic venue, where conditions
on the ground were wet and often muddy. Dabill produced his
best performance of the trial on the second lap to further
extend his lead at the top of the table. His loss of just
fifteen marks included only one five at the eighth hazard.
With just one final visit to the now well bedded in twelve
sections, James was some eighteen marks ahead of Brown, and
looking comfortable for the victory.
However this was not to be the case, as Dabill suffered a
disasterous last lap, which included no less than three maximums,
as he closed with his worst lap score, that being twenty-nine
marks. This poor finish and time penalties on the first lap
would prove to be James downfall, as Brown prouced the best
lap of the trial to steal the win from his ex team-mate.
Dabill will travel to Italy later this week, for the third
round of the Italian outdoor series, with James having won
the first two rounds of the championship to date. This comes
just one week ahead of the next round of the World outdoor
championship that will take place in the USA during the last
weekend of this month.
Disappointed at being defeated in such a late manner, Dabill
stated. “I started badly and finished badly, and therefore
perhaps deserved to be beaten. As with the first two World
events, I need to find some level of consistency with my riding,
as this is effecting my results.”
“It’s been a tough week, one way and another,
and one that I am glad is now over. So all I can do is look
forward, and remain positive about the forthcoming events.”
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