Top Trial Team frontman, Jack Challoner kickstarted his 2012 FIM World Trials Championship assault at the opening round of the series is La Bresse, France this weekend. Held over two 'point scoring' day's, the opening round of the season provided close results throughout the leader-board.
Jack Challoner, current ranked 9th in the World Standings after last year's championship, was keen to prove that he has what it takes to break into the Top 7 this year, and he has definitely shown he is a contender within this competitive battle. At the top World Pro class, the Spanish foursome dominated again, with Adam Raga (Gas Gas) winning Saturday and reigning World Champion Toni Bou (Montesa) becoming victorious on Sunday.
On the opening day of the championship, Jack Challoner finished 7th, just 6 marks behind fellow Yorkshire rider James Dabill (Beta), only conceding two 'five mark' penalties on a difficult second lap. Jack's performance on day one meant he would finish ahead of Matteo Grattarola (ITA - Gas Gas) and Michael Brown (GBR - Gas Gas), who finished 8th and 9th respectively.
The 21 year old from Halifax was unable to keep hold of 7th position on the second day in France, despite a competitive opening lap. Jack's first lap score of 19 wasn't enough to compensate for a tough second lap where he had a big crash on the second section before recording 6 maximum marks, four in the last six sections. A combined score of 50 put the Yorkshire rider level with Frenchman, Loris Gubian (Gas Gas) who rode with one more clean than Jack to clinch 8th place.
Speaking about the opening round in La Bresse, Challoner comments "I'm very glad the season has started again, it has been a great opening weekend especially for the Top Trial Team. Bradley Cox finished second on both days in the Youth Championship, beaten by Sverre [Lundevold] today."
"The vibe here today is great, I think all the riders have been training hard over the winter and are ready to get back on the road. I've been riding the Italian Championships over the last month which has given me the perfect platform to be competitive in the World Championships"
"Im riding really well, which is why I am a little disappointed with my second lap today, I made a few mistakes, which at this level can be very costly. I'm looking forward to going back to the UK now, it's been a while since I've been home, and I hope I can challenge for the win at the Scottish Six Day Trial"