07/08/18 – TrialGP Great Britain lands on these shores on 1st / 2nd September with two full days of top-flight…
TrialGP Great Britain lands on these shores on 1st / 2nd September with two full days of top-flight, feet-up action as the 2018 FIM Trial World Championship ends its summer holidays and arrives at the business end of the series.
That is right, there are just two rounds to go and Silsden – spiritual hometown of Trial royalty the Lampkin family – or, to be more precise, the iconic Addingham Moorside is the venue of choice for what promises to be the pivotal moment of this year’s series.
It all gets under way in white-knuckle style on Saturday with two qualification sessions for all four classes – TrialGP, TrialGP Women, Trial2 and Trial2 Women. Introduced last year as part of championship promoter Sport7’s radical shake-up of the series, qualification determines starting order for Sunday’s points-paying main event.
Starting at the back of the field is usually a big advantage – lines form, dust and moss are worn off rocks and mud is dispersed as rear tyres bite down to find grip. In previous years the top riders automatically started last so Sport7 brought in qualification as a way of levelling the playing field and providing great entertainment for Trial fans who love the format and pack out the chosen section every time.
In 2017 there was just one qualification session but Sport7 is not a promoter that is content to rest on its own laurels and for 2018 it has been expanded to Q1 and Q2. That is what is known in the trade as a double bonus!
The format is simple – riders’ starting positions for Q1 are determined by ballot and their first attempt determines starting order for Q2 which is the run that really matters. The first rule of qualification is stay clean, the second rule of qualification is stay clean and the third rule of Qualification is go as fast as you can because the sessions are timed and the quicker the run the better – as long as you follow rules one and two.
Irrespective of time or reputation, a stray dab will dump a rider a long way down the results which translates into an early starting position the following day that, as we have already explained, can be a big disadvantage.
Since its inception at Camprodon in Spain in 2017 we have seen some riders emerge as qualification specialists and, incredibly, there have only been three different winners in the elite TrialGP class. Unsurprisingly, the great Toni Bou – Repsol Honda leads the field with seven wins from Jaime Busto – Gas Gas who has got five and British hero James Dabill – Beta who has topped qualification twice including last time out at TrialGP Belgium.
Break it down into top-three finishes and Bou and Dabill are neck-and-neck on eleven each with Busto on ten, Albert Cabestany – Beta on four, Adam Raga – TRRS on three, Jeroni Fajardo – Gas Gas on two and Takahisa Fujinami – Repsol Honda on one.
“I don’t want to jinx myself, but I really enjoy qualification,” said Dabill. “If you have a good result you get a good start position and I just feel you have got nothing to lose so why not go for it and put on a good show if you can? It is good fun and it is something different that adds a lot of excitement.”
So there you have it. Don’t just rock up on Sunday morning – make sure your TrialGP Great Britain experience starts on the Saturday and be there to cheer on the World’s top riders. But mostly James Dabill!
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Don’t miss the unmissable!
