The first race of the 2018 X-Trial World Championship kicked off with the absolute dominance of
Toni Bou
, who beat a splendid Jaime Busto in his debut with Gas Gas. The podium was completed by
Adam Raga
, who after suffering a very strong fall in the qualifying round, drew strength to continue in the race and finish in the positions of honor.
In the first round of qualifying, Toni Bou was already making a difference, followed closely by
Jaime Busto
, just three points behind. Behind, in a fist,
Jeroni Fajardo
, Dabill and a Raga who starred in the big scare of the night in the last area. Finally, the big fall was left in a scare.
At this point in the race, Jorge Casales, Matteo Grattarola and Arnau Farre finished the race with great performances.
In the second round, Bou earned his place in the grand final after convincingly beating Bincaz and Dabill, while Jaime Busto, in a very competitive group with Raga and Fajardo, beat the TRRS rider by just one point.
The two former teammates, Busto and Bou, met in the grand final. Jaime committed a definitive fiasco in the second zone, giving an advantage to Toni who knew how to manage very well until the end of the race. From this point on, Jaime completed the rest of the sections without penalties, giving a good account of his great level and form with his new bike.
RESULTS
1 Toni Bou Montesa SPA 20
2 Jaime Busto Gas Gas SPA 15
3 Adam Raga TRRS SPA 12
4 Jeroni Fajardo Gas Gas SPA 9
5 James Dabill Beta UK 7
6 Benoit Bincaz Scorpa FRA 5
7 Jorge Casales Vertigo SPA 3
8 Matteo Grattarola Montesa ITA 2
9 Arnau Farre Vertigo SPA 1
DECLARATIONS
Toni Bou:
“We’ve started a new season and we knew we had to fight, even more so when we saw the sections, which were very simple. Jaime pushed much harder than we thought, he did a very good lap and in the end he was a good rival. I don’t think I made any more mistakes than logical and if I continue like this, the championship will be very close. It’s important to start with a win and with those good feelings. Now we’ll rest a bit and continue with the pre-season, which we haven’t done yet.”
Jaime Busto:
“Reaching the final and getting on the second step is the best way to reward Torrot for the trust he has placed in me to join the GasGas Factory Trial Team. It has been a very good start to the World Cup. The sections were not too complicated, so in the first round I was able to qualify in second position and then, in the next one, despite the fact that my rivals were very good, I fine-tuned my riding a lot and managed to go through to the final. Toni was very strong as always and we made a small mistake at the beginning, in the second section, which prevented us from fighting for the final victory. However, to start the championship in this way is incredible for us. The sections were not extremely difficult, which meant that any mistake would be very costly in qualifying. However, we were at a high level and in the end we finished second, a very good debut for us and our whole team in the X-Trial World Championship.”
Adam Raga:
“To get a podium here and be just one point away from entering the final is a good result for me, especially considering the heavy crash I had in the last part of qualifying, where I could have been injured. The feeling is good and we will fight to try to be higher up.”
Jeroni Fajardo:
“The truth is that I had a very good feeling. In the first round, an initial mistake made it difficult for me to get into the race, as it put a lot of pressure on me. I knew I couldn’t afford any more mistakes, but in the end I qualified third, making it to the next round. The second round was very tough. Jaime and I were in the same group, with Adam, and the truth is that starting from behind gave me a certain advantage. In the penultimate area, I noticed that the crankcase touched an obstacle. The speaker commented that, after that, we were tied with Adam. So I took a risk to finish the section with a better time than him but it wasn’t to be and I finally finished fourth. It’s always better to get a podium, but this time it wasn’t to be by a long shot. Despite this, the feeling with the new GasGas TrialGP 300 has been very good. We’ve been at the front and I’m sure the results will not be long in coming for our team and Torrot.”
