In a mirror image of his previous day's performance, Britain's Jack Sheppard finished fourth in the Junior division at round two of the 2012 FIM Trial World Championship, held deep in Victoria, Australia. Just like the day before, he completed the two-lap, thirty-section course on Sunday to finish just three marks shy of a podium place in what proved a frustrating weekend for the Jitsie factory Beta rider.
The eighteen-year-old from Suffolk started badly, and mistakes in the first few sections cost him dearly. Two fives on sections three and four of lap one saw his chances of a top three finish fade, and were it not for those small mistakes the teenager would have been on for his first podium this season.
Despite this, Jack left Australia in a positive mood, knowing that the margins between fourth and first place are extremely tight as he heads to Japan for round three of the 2012 FIM Trial World Championship this coming weekend in Motegi. It is a venue that has many happy memories for Sheppard, as he claimed his first World title there last year, and with fewer mistakes he is on course for a rostrum finish.
"Like yesterday, I just made too many mistakes," said Sheppard. "On the first lap I got a three and two fives pretty early on - within the first four sections - and had it not been for that I would have done a lot better. Those mistakes early in the day cost me a podium, which is frustrating because, after that, I was riding much better."
"I felt like I was riding quite well this weekend, but I would get to the end of a section and make a mistake, and five it," continued Jack. "That is difficult. It is really frustrating when you know you are riding okay, but a small mistake is the difference between second place and fourth place at this level."
"It has been a great event. The sections were excellent. The atmosphere was incredible. It is really good to see so much energy and passion from the fans, and that really helps when you are riding. I think all the riders agree that it has been good coming here and we all want to come back."