Jitsie factory Beta rider Jack Sheppard came desperately close to rounding off what has been a torrid season for the teenager with a podium place at his home Grand Prix. However Jack had to settle for fourth spot on the final day of the 2012 FIM Trial World Championship as the youngster from Suffolk came off worse in a most cleans tie break with Belgian rider Maxime Warenghein. Despite not quite making it onto the rostrum this was a positive conclusion for Jack who has battled all year to get back to fitness after having underone surgery to correct the problem with his right wrist.
Disappointed with his showing in front of his home fans yesterday, Sheppard was determined to make amends today on a course that had been heavily soaked by rain overnight and throughout most of the opening lap. Almost like twenty four hours earlier Jack started strongly, but unlike yesterday he managed to maintain his form even during the closing half of the lap. His first tour total of nineten marks, included two fives as he failed in sections ten and twelve - which were his only real mistakes during the morning session.
Sheppard was even more focused during his second visit to the now drying zones. With his foreign rivals not finding either the British weather or terrain to their liking, Jack seized his moment to close in on a podium placing. This looked like a real possibility until another maximum score in section twelve on the second lap was to leave him level on marks with Warenghien. Unfortunately Sheppard was to be cruelly pushed off the rostrum as he recorded less cleans than his Belgian rival.
Jack said. "I definitely had a far better day than yesterday. I started off well again and went clean over the first five sections, but I had two very slack fives on the first lap, both on sections where I really should have ridden clean. That obviously cost me quite a bit. The second lap also started well with a few odd dabs, but importantly, just a single five so I was far more pleased with my riding during the second half of the trial."
"The sections were really good. They were tough, but I enjoyed the event. I did have to change my technique somewhat because of my wrist, approaching some of the big drop-offs a bit differently to try and lessen the impact. That seems to have helped a lot as it gave me far fewer problems today than I expected." concluded Sheppard.