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  JACK
CHALLONER - A ROOKIE WITH RESULTS
With very little experience of the indoor trial scene Jack Challoner - Beta started this season as an under dog in the 2011 SPEA FIM X-Trial World Championship. As a rookie, most expected him to be outclassed by the series’ more established and battle-hardened stars. However, four rounds into the six-round championship and twenty-year-old Challoner has been something of a revelation. Not only has the fast-learning Brit qualified for the semi finals at the last two rounds, he has beaten the likes of Takahisa Fujinami - Repsol Montesa and James Dabill - Beta in the process. Both prominent and seasoned riders, they would no doubt have been surprised and dismayed to see Challoner’s name above them on the score sheet. Particularly Fujinami, who was ousted from the top five by the eager youngster in his hometown of Barcelona. “I had a great night in Barcelona,” confirmed Challoner. “To get into the top five was awesome and that result has given me a massive boost. I still have a lot to learn but I am really enjoying the indoor events. It is a completely different experience to outdoor trials and I love it when the crowd gets behind me. The support I have received this year has been both unexpected and brilliant, particularly in Sheffield and Barcelona.” “Prior to round one I was a bit nervous as I really did not know how I would cope with the intensity of the crowd in an arena, as it is not something you can really prepare for,” continued Challoner. “When you are on a section you do not really think about the crowd, though. You have to block everything else out and just concentrate on the hazards. But when they really get behind you, like in Sheffield, you can hear them giving you encouragement and it feels amazing. It gives you so much motivation.” Having won both the FIM Youth Trial World Cup and the FIM Junior Trial World Cup in recent years Challoner’s progression to the top sectors of the sport has, like his personality, been measured. He is a mature rider whose talent and skill has become visibly more refined at each round in 2011. Now he has belief too, and will head into the last two rounds of the season with a new found confidence. “My goal at the beginning of the year was just to qualify,” said Challoner. “I did not really know what to expect, or how I would perform against the top riders. I am really happy with how things are going. Now when I go to each round I am just keen to see how far I can get and which riders I can beat. I am sixth in the championship and, to be honest, I did not expect to be here. I want to protect my position at the final two rounds and hopefully have another couple of decent results. I think podiums are a way off, but it would be great to get another top five finish.” Challoner’s 2011 SPEA FIM X-Trial World Championship campaign will resume in Madrid, Spain this coming Saturday evening at the penultimate round of the current series. 2011 Current FIM championship standings:
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