World Outdoor Trials Championship Round 2, Bangor
James Dabill once again failed to deliver the result that
his ability demands, as for the second week running he finished
down in eight place and out of the target top six he has set
himself this season. Round two of the 2008 FIM SPEA Trial
World Championship took place in severe weather at the Irish
coastal town of Bangor. In addition to highly difficult sections,
a rising tide, sleet, snow and persistent gale force winds
added together to create a tough competition.
Beaten by the forceful waves, Dabill’s day got off
to a shakey start as he notched up a soft five where most
of his close rivals passed with ease. James was soon to have
the opportunity to cancel out this mistake, when he brough
the large crowd to its feet at section four. Urged on by the
defending roars of the enthusiastic fans, Dabill crested two
out of the three fearsome rock faces before coming unstuck
at a hazard where only Bou made it to the end cards on the
first lap.
However Dabill’s fightback was to be short lived, as
three fives in a row during the later part of the lap, plus
another maximum in section fifteen were to put him out of
touch of the front runners. His tally of thirty-eight marks,
being four more than Freixa, who held seventh place at the
end of the first lap.
With sunshine now replacing snow, James also showed signs
of warming
up with a much stronger start to his second lap. Just two
fives, one at the almost impossible fourth hazard and one
at the final man made section were low points in an otherwised
much improved performance. The scale of Dabill’s fightback
reflected in a second lap total that was some fourteen marks
better than his morning showing.
James will return to the UK to compete in the opening round
of the British domestic series next weekend, before returning
to World duities in the USA later in the month.
Dabill was far from happy with his result and stated. “
Like last week my lap scores have been too inconsistent. I
really struggled with the cold and wind this morning and never
got into any kind of rhythm until it was much too late.”
“My second lap today has shown that I am on the pace
for a top six place, if only I can get it together on both
laps. Hopefully I can get some confidence from next weekend,
before I travel to America, where I need to turn things around
for both me and the team.”
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