Italian Outdoor Championship
Round 2 - San Marino, Italy
James Dabill made it two wins from two starts in the defence
of his Italian Championship, as the young British rider took
a narrow victory at he second round of the series held in
San Marino. Dabill had to fight off a fierce challenge from
his highly experienced teammate Fabio Lenzi to take the win
by just three marks after a nervous and tense closing two
laps.
James did not make the best of starts on the opening six
river sections, with him recording a soft five as early as
the third hazard. The slippery stream caught Dabill unawares
with his front wheel finding a hole deep enough to halt his
progress without warning and to propel him over the handlebars
for an early bath.
Despite ‘the glass’ like conditions James battled
back well to keep his score in single figures prior to the
last man made section. Here Dabill was docked a five for a
reason that still remains a mystery to him and the others
who thought they had witnessed a clean ride.
With these mistakes Dabill found himself locked in a four-way
fight for the lead, with just two marks separating these four
front-runners at this point. Ironically it was James’
younger British teammate Alexz Wigg who shared the lead after
the first lap.
With the river sections having bedded in, the lap scores
dropped dramatically with only the two steps in section eight
and the artificial final hazard now offering any real resistance
for the top riders.
James kept his nerve fantastically despite the extremely
tight and tense nature of the competition as the trial drew
to a close. Dabill completed his second lap for the loss of
just three marks, which consisted of one two mark ride and
a single dab effort to edge his way in front.
An even better last lap showing, where he parted with a mere
two single dabs was enough to give the twenty one year old
from west Leeds the results he richly deserved.
Delighted to have won, but not with his riding Dabill stated.
“A win is always welcomed, especially as I have shown
that I can ride under pressure today. However that said my
performance has not been up to standard. The conditions were
difficult this morning, but that is no excuse for the mistakes
I made. At least I can now look forward to the World championship
proper with a few victories under my belt.”
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