James Dabill Report
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 team-mate 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 team-mate 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.”


Results - San Marino, Italy
1: James Dabill   13+3+2=18
2: Fabio Lenzi   15+2+4=21
3: Michele Orizio  14+9+5=28
4: Alexz Wigg  13+18+9=40
5: Andrea Vaccaretti   22+10+14=46
6: Matteo Grattarola   15+9+11=35

Championship to date:
1: Dabill 40
2: Lenzi 32
3: Vaccaretti 28