Twelve months ago it was Britain’s James Dabill – Vertigo who gave the then unproven prototype Vertigo Combat its World debut in front of his home audience. This time around, again in the famous Sheffield Arena, Great Britain the honour falls to Dabill’s new team mate Jeroni Fajardo – Vertigo, as the twenty-nine year old Spanish rider breaks cover for the first time on the fuel-injected machine having signed a deal with the Vertigo factory late last year. Fourth overall in the 2015 series, Fajardo will be looking for a strong start to the 2016 FIM X-Trial World Championship and to confirm how well he has gelled with his new mount.
Speaking ahead of tonight’s opening event Fajardo said. “As a team we have been working hard over the last two months to be ready for Sheffield. Always when you are adapting to a new bike there are many things to consider, but overall I am very satisfied with the work we have done and how I have been training on the Combat. It is clear that there is little room for error in the FIM X-Trial World Championship. Last year at Sheffield I just missed out on a podium place, and it would be an incredible start to the new season for both me and the team if we could make it through to the final and finish inside the top three tonight.”
Jake Miller