It’s fair to say that the move to the Trial2 class of the Hertz FIM Trial World Championship hasn’t been the smoothest experience for Britain’s Billy Green (Scorpa) and the 19-year-old knows that consistency is key if he’s to have a breakthrough season in 2022.
After winning the 2018 Trial125 title, Green has twice finished 13th in Trial2 and this year progressed to 10th but he’s a long way away from where he wants to be.
“I would have liked to progress faster,” he said. “I think a few people might have expected me to do a bit better a bit sooner knowing that my ability isn’t that far off but my consistency hasn’t quite been there.
“I’d like to be consistently in and around the top five and fighting for podiums. At the last few rounds I’d have a wobbly first lap and my second lap would be one of the best of the trial so I need to pull it together for both laps because it is there.”
If you’re after a comparison you don’t have to look far. Toby Martyn (TRRS) is the 2021 Trial2 champ and has the British title as well but the 21-year-old has never been shy when it comes to talking about dealing with pressure and it took him five years to piece together the puzzle.
With a couple of years more experience under his belt, Martyn is a great role model for any aspiring rider and Green has him lined up in his crosshairs.
“I need to work on my inconsistencies but I feel I can progress because there were a couple of times this season that I’ve beaten or been close to Toby. If you look at him now, he’s just won the Trial2 class and he’s going up to the TrialGP class so to follow in his footsteps is where I’d like to be going.
Kicking off his 2021 campaign with wildly-inconsistent 8-18 results at the first round in Italy, Green finished third at round two in France and backed this up with seventh on the opening day in Andorra.
Everything clicked for him on the second day in the Pyrenees and he finally showed what he was capable of with his total of nine earning him a comprehensive victory, only for him to be disqualified.
True champions have the ability to turn a negative into a positive and, despite the disqualification, the second day in Andorra was a big boost to Green’s confidence.
“My inconsistencies were very frustrating. I have had some good results but to be so up and down isn’t simple for me to process. But I’m happy – I know I have the ability to go up there and do well, it’s just piecing it together.”
Dougie Lampkin was laying kerbs and roofing when he began to get a taste of the big time and Green’s also not afraid to roll up his sleeves having swapped his job in a pizzeria for work as a labourer on a building site.
“It’s part of what I have to do to make it work. It gives me drive to make use of the spare time I have knowing that I’m putting everything I have into it and that it’s not just been handed to me on a plate. It makes me appreciate the time I have off work to use it productively. I like that it’s grounding.
“The dream is to try and be the best in the world – that’s the end goal – but, being realistic, I just want to be the best rider I can be.”
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