Toni Bou takes his first outdoor win of the 2017 season
It was a tough race technically and physically for all the riders, with long sections and big steps
James Dabill and Franzi Kadlec make their CET debuts
Miquel Gelabert takes a hard-fought podium in the last section over Jorge Casales
Adam Raga remains the only rider able to keep up with Toni Bou
The SPEA RFME Spanish Trial Championship 2017 has moved in its second round of the season to the municipality of Mancor de la Vall. Nestled in the Sierra de Tramuntana on the island of Mallorca. This small town of just over 1,300 inhabitants has thus picked up the baton from the Balearic town of Sant Joan, the site of the CET for the last two campaigns.
To be exact, Mancor de la Vall has hosted the top Spanish competition for the second time. The first occasion was in 2003 and he did it with the help of the Motor Club Cop De Gas.
A TOUGH TRIAL, WITH DRY TERRAIN AND DEMANDING SECTIONS
Those in charge of carrying out this second event of 2017 successfully, however, have been, however, the boys and girls of the Moto Club Zona Cero, who have made their debut as organizers of the CET marking a route with a total of 12 zones, to be overcome in two laps – except TR1, which passes through the same laps twice and consecutively and has a total time of 3 hours and 30 minutes – and with a maximum time of 5 hours, and with the Mancor de la Vall Town Hall square as the start and end of the race.
A total of 59 riders and six categories – TR1, TR2, TR3, TR4, Junior and Cadet – took part in this second round of the year; the first for the premier class.
TONI BOU REMAINS UNSTOPPABLE
Precisely, in the latter, the winner was Toni Bou (Montesa-HRC), ahead of Adam Raga (TRS) and Miquel Gelabert (Sherco). The reigning champions finished the first pass through the zones with a total of 8 points, while in the second they have barely dropped 6 points. Raga, on the other hand, ended up joining him on the podium after scoring 14 and 12 points, respectively.
Miquel Gelabert
, on the other hand, needed 21 and 13 points to climb to the last place on the podium and thus reach the first podium of his career in TR1.
JORGE CASALES AND JAIME BUSTO, FIGHTING FOR THE PODIUM UNTIL THE END
Left out of the podium was
Jorge Casales
, who was assured of third position until the last section, where Gelabert added a very important zero. After Casales,
Jaime Busto
was finished, who received criticism after the career of his Team Manager, Miquel Cirera:
“We start the Spanish championship with a bittersweet taste. For his part, Toni has done very well, as always, but Jaime… It’s not what he or the team expects. That is why we have to keep working, although it will not be easy; today Gelabert showed that the level of the other riders is increasing rapidly.”
As for the silver division of CET 2017, TR2, the victory has corresponded to Gabriel Marcellí with a final cumulative of 11 points; five less than Aniol Gelabert, second, and 22 less than Sam Obradó, ultimately third.
In the rest of the levels in action, the best have been: again David Millán, in TR3; José María Segura, in TR4; Gerard Trueba, in Junior; and Pau Martínez, in Cadet.
The next round of the SPEA RFME Spanish Trial Championship 2017 will be held on April 9 in Sigüenza, Guadalajara, under the organization, once again, of the Moto Club Alto Henares. Here, as here, the TR1, TR2, TR3, TR4, Junior and Cadet categories will start.
FINAL STANDINGS ALL CATEGORIES
Information and photos: RFME / Joan Carles Vazquez
DECLARATIONS
Toni Bou:
“I’m very happy to start the 2017 Spanish Championship with a victory! We made some mistakes, because the race allowed it, it was easy to make mistakes, but despite that, we managed to win, so it’s a very good result. In zone 11 I made two mistakes: I wanted to get 0 and I wanted to take a risk because I had a lot of points instead of clinging, but I think I could have taken the zone out. Equally, I’m very satisfied with how I went in this first race of the National.”
Adam Raga:
“It was a great race, I’m satisfied with my riding and the performance we had, despite having failed in the second pass through the second section when an arrow fell. It was a tough day, with long and difficult sections, always close to the top positions, which is the most important thing. We continue to work for the next races and improve to achieve victory.”
Miquel Gelabert:
“It has been a hard and technical race, with a lot of hard work, some of them long and with big steps. In short, a race in which you could not relax at any time. We worked well, although we could have been finer at some point. Zone 12 was a key point, as only Toni Bou scored less than five points in the two runs, which gave me an extra advantage to overtake Casales and get on the podium.”
Jaime Busto:
“I didn’t start the race very well. In zone 2 I made a mistake that led me to the first fiasco of the day; I didn’t climb well and I stayed… The sections were good, to make a good result, I think I didn’t go badly for most of the trial, but in the last two sections I made a fiasco in the two passes. Without them, I could have been in the podium zone… I think I wanted to go fast to finish without a penalty and I didn’t concentrate well.”
