Well it was certainly wet at the 2009 SSDT..!!

Monday went ok for Michael where he had 4 single dabs, a couple of slack 1,s.. but no real disaster. Tuesday he was clean untill the section after lunch (Forest gate) where Michael picked up a five after his chain was derailed. After this the water was really high and he had a couple of three's near the end of the day where, in his words "I couldnt see anything!"

Wednesday was the same again with the wet stuff. Michael was riding near the back of the entry and the water level was rising all the time! Thursdays route was changed on Wednesday night, and Pune recorded his first clean day. On Friday Michael rode very well, just having a dab at a group called laudale cottage where the front wheel slid off a rock. Saturday was to be his early day, this proved very slippery. Michael had 4 dabs but was down for five at the end of the day and lost out to haslam on most three's.

"The result is not what i was looking for, but i have still enjoyed my week. I

have been unlucky in a few places and with the water having been so high it was difficult to see where you were going. I would like to thank all my team and everyone at sherco uk for their help during the week"

Next event: carisle world champs... see you all there!!!

A glorious sunny day in South Wales greeted the riders on Sunday for the St. Davids Trial, round 3 of the ACU British Championship. With only a slight breeze many would leave the event with red arms and faces as the temperature climbed all day.
From the start it was obvious that only James Dabill and Michael would be fighting for the win as the other competitors started to lose marks early on, and they would continue their fight all day!
Michael started well with a mega clean on section 3 then with just two 2's on sections 5 and 6 he ended the lap on 4, 3 in front of dibs. But then disaster struck with a five on the start of section 1 of the second lap, and then a three on section 3... 8 marks in three sections was not what he wanted!  Michael got it back together with a brilliant clean at section five with a new jump line across the rock gap at the end which had caused problems for many riders all day. He then had a dab on 6 and a dab on the exit of the difficult 12th and went clean from then on, but the start of the lap had cost him the win. Close friend Dibs taking the event by just 2 marks.

Michael commented...
" I am happy with my riding today, it has been much better than In previous weeks. I felt confident all day and without a mistake on the first section of the second lap I would have taken the win. I am now looking forward to next weekends wtc round in Portugal.
I would like to thank all the team for their help over the weekend"

Click on the Image below to view images of Michael at the St. Davids..

Michael's weekend got off to the worst possible start when he had a spectacular, over the handlebars, 5 on the very first section of the event!! He battled his way through the rest of the lap and did clean the last section to set himself up for a better run second time around.
The second lap started much better with a clean on the first section and some much better rides including a single dab ride on section 9 in the quarry... but he was unfortunate to miss the clutch lever on the very last section of the day and break the tapes with his front wheel. That 5 cost him 9th place in the final standings of this first round as it dropped him just behind Gubian.

Michael said after the days event... "I am really disappointed with my result today, the sections have been not only difficult but very long and time was short. The mistakes I have made today have been costly and at this level I can not afford to keep making them"

Day two... Round 2.

Pune started far better on the second day with a clean on section 1 but then had a crash on the next and bent his bars, costing him time which he then had to make up. This caused him to rush a bit and have several 5's instead of 3's but he had a great ride on section 6 for a single dab. Again luck wasn't with Michael as in section 11 he was clean almost to the end but his front wheel hit the tapes and snapped them for a 5!!
His second lap again started well with a clean on the first, a great ride on the long tricky 5th for a single point, clean on 13 and a single at the 15th for a lap score of 47 but this proved to still be 8 short of Gubian... another 10th place final finish.

" I have ridden better today, but still not as well as I know I can... the problem again being too many 5's. This is something I will have to work on. The trial has been good today but again I am disappointed with my result.
I would like to thank Minder Alex, Mechanic Dan and Malcolm for their help over the weekend. All of us would like to congratulate team mate Jonathon Richardson on his double win in the youth class this weekend."

Michael is riding a 3 day trial in La Chatre, France, over the bank holiday weekendbefore returning home for the next Bristish Championship Event.

Images from the camera of Ian Cross will be in the gallery pages soon.