James Dabill was amongst four British Riders who made the long haul trip to the first ever Australia GP, held over two days at Mount Tarrengower in the county of Victoria. This two-day championship, is the second stop of the 2012 FIM World Trials Championship calendar, and an important test for the riders to make the most of the two point scoring opportunities for the championship. Factory Beta rider, James Dabill was amongst one of the riders challenging for top 5 territory but had to settle for been "the best of the rest" as the four Spanish riders dominated the top of the leader board.
Dabill weekend did not get underway as expected, while rain showers made the large granite obstacles difficult to navigate and in places quite dangerous, James only managed to get through five of the 15 sections without maximum penalty on his opening lap - despite these tough conditions making the championship obstacles incredibly hairy, James was resting in seventh after the lap. Determined not to let the new sections get the better of him, the Yorkshire rider improved significantly on the second lap of day one, but a "most cleans" ruling meant that it would be Daniel Oliveras who managed to take the 10 points on offer for 6th position, as both riders finished the day on 105 marks.
Day two was much more civilised, while the ground in places was still wet, the rain had stopped and the sections were easier to ride. James, keen to put his high scoring Saturday behind him found his groove early on, and was just two marks behind Adam Raga after the opening lap. Demonstrating he has the potential to stand on the podium this year, Dabill was one of only four riders able to clean sections seven, eight and nine on both laps. As the scores continued to get lower, a single five on section two in the second lap, meant James wouldn't be able to join Cabestany, Raga and Bou with a single figure second lap and had to settle for his third sixth place finish of the year.
Factory Beta team-mate, Jeroni Fajardo (Spain) stood on the podium for the second time this year, with a sensational second place on day two in Australia.
Speaking about the event James comments, "Saturday was hard, and the rain made the big rocks incredibly slippery, but overall, I have to be happy with a 7th and a 6th. While this weekend I haven't managed to break into the Top 5, I can feel that I am getting closer, on occasions I am cleaning sections where Raga and Cabestany are struggling, and I think that I will be closer to the top in Japan next weekend.
"There has been a really great buzz around the paddock today, it's great to see Jeroni on the podium again, the team have done a great job to provide us with machines capable of winning, especially as we're at the other side of the world"
The next stop of the 2012 FIM World Championship tour is at the famous Twin Ring Motegi circuit in Japan next weekend.