Trials Action

British Trials Championship // Kinlochleven - Graham Jarvis clinches title!

Monday the 18th of September 2006 by jitsie

Graham Jarvis extended his lead over Steve Colley in the Colin Appleyard A.C.U. 2006 British Trials Championship on Sunday at Round Six of the national trials championship series at Kinlochleven. With just one event to run, the Bradford Motor Club event at Skyrakes, Skipton, the Pateley Bridge domiciled Canterbury rider has clinched the title.

Isle of Man international star Steve Colley cannot bridge the points gap, even if he wins Bradford. Scottish trials champion Gary MacDonald was sixth in the event after loosing fifth place on a tie-break decider. Gary headed the home challenge in the championship class on his MRS Sherco.

The long journey North to the Scottish highlands brought better news for James Dabill as he recorded his second best result in this year’s British championship, with a battling third place for his efforts. Held on the banks of the famous Loch Leven, Dabill lists this event as one of his favourite on the domestic tour, with the waterside venue being home to some of the best natural hazards on the UK mainland.

Since his close second spot at the opening round in Wales back in late March, James has struggled to find his form back on home soil despite his string of strong results on the World scene. Incredibly with only one round remaining this was only the second time Dabill has managed to make it on to the podium during the current British championship campaign. Typically damp weather provided the back drop to a tough event, with the drizzle throughout the day doing little to improve conditions in the twelve testing sections that were ridden three times. Dabill did not make the best of starts and posted a first lap score of twenty one marks, which included three fives.

The large limestone rock steps that at best were slippery were James’ early undoing, but the twenty year old from Leeds soon got to grips with these as the trial wore on. A second lap of just twelve marks proved this point, and included a soft five as his bike failed to fire cleanly on one of the easier sections. Dabill confirmed his true potential with a closing lap of a mere six marks, which was almost sufficient to see him snatch second place, but in the end netted him a valuable third position with just one event remaining.

“ Whilst I know that I could have done better, I am happy with my performance today, as overall this year I have not ridden well in the British championship when you compare my results at home to those that I have achieved overseas. For me this is one of the best rounds of the series, and is what I would class as being a proper trial. Once again there were several tough sections, so you knew that it wasn’t going to be down to one difficult hazard, which has sometimes been the case this season.”

Results
1. Jarvis - 27 (14+2+10+1)
2. Morris - 37 (24+7+6)
3. Dabill - 39 (21+12+6)
4. Colley - 42(13+13+16)
5. Brown - 48 (24+10+14)
6. MacDonald - 48 (19+14+15)
7. Phillipson - 92 (33+37+22)
8. Walker - 99 (40+31+28)
9. Vesterinen - 128 (44+43+41)
10. Austlemuhle - 133 (48+43+42)

Championship standings
1. Jarvis - 114
2. Colley - 95
3. Morris - 84
4. Dabill - 79
5. Brown - 71
6. Phillipson - 56
7. MacDonald - 52
8. Connor - 40
9. Vesterinen - 38
10. Austlemuhle - 33

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