has achieved two very important victories in the United Kingdom GP that allows him to face the final stretch of the championship with a comfortable 10-point lead. His main rival, Adam Raga, continues to keep up with the reigning champion and adds two second places in the British event. The third step of the podium was shared between Cabestany and Fajardo, one each day.
The Trial World Championship maintains its frenetic pace of July. In just 3 weeks, the riders are competing in 4 scoring races that translate into 80 points at stake, so this intense journey will be decisive to resolve the issue. One of the most hotly contested and exciting championships in recent years.
In the British town of Penrith there has been a Trial weekend with tough sections and rainy weather conditions on the first day. This has not allowed Toni Bou scores 40 points and increases the gap to Adam Raga by 6 points more than they can be decisive to renew the long-awaited World Champion trophy.
It was a bittersweet weekend for Albert Cabestany, who added his fifth consecutive podium on Saturday, while on Sunday he sank in the standings and could only sign a seventh place. Another of the great protagonists was the debutant Jorge Casales, sixth on the second day.
As far as the World Cup category is concerned , it was a great weekend for Jaime Busto, who adds a first and second place that keep him at the top of the provisional classification.
QUALIFYING DAY 1
QUALIFYING DAY 2
DAY 1 STATEMENTS
Toni Bou: “We started the race very well and on the first lap I only scored one point in the last section. On the second lap I left some points and on the third I made two fiascos in a row because I tried to finish zero on that last lap and it was not to be; Maybe because I wanted to risk too much. It was positive because we were able to take a lot of advantage in the race and I’m very happy with this victory. Probably, in tomorrow’s race, the sections will be a bit easier, but we have to keep fighting. This win today was very important for me and for the team.”
Takahisa Fujinami: “I think I did a pretty good last lap, but it was a shame that I missed the first two quite a bit: too many fiascos. I thought I could finish fourth, but by a single point I didn’t make it. During the race I was going well, with confidence, but I made a bit of a mistake. The recovery has come a bit late, but it gives me hope to be able to recover in tomorrow’s race.”
Adam Raga: “The first lap didn’t go too well for me. It rained for most of the race and the rocks were slipping a lot. I wasn’t comfortable on the bike, so we made a small modification that worked very well for me and everything changed on the second and third laps. It’s true that I lost some valuable points for the championship, but the way things went for me at the beginning, on the first lap, we managed to finish second after coming back and I want to keep that feeling for tomorrow, where I hope to do better and fight for the victory.”
Jorge Casales: “The first day here in Britain didn’t go very well, but I’m happy with my ninth place and the experience of being able to fight with the best drivers in the world.
The world of trial. The first two laps went badly for me. The terrain was really difficult, it rained for most of the race and the steps were very complicated. Half of the last lap I was with the points of the top riders, but I think that in order to improve and be among them I need to accumulate a bit more experience on the bike and also on a psychological level. Now it’s time to rest for tomorrow.”
Arnau Farré: “This is my second race in the world championship and it didn’t go very well. On the first lap I made more fives than I expected and that weighed on the second, where I didn’t feel too good in terms of riding either. However, in the third one I got better. This helps me to gain experience in the World Cup, tomorrow I hope it will be better.”
DAY 2 STATEMENTS
Toni Bou: “I’m very happy with how this weekend went, I think we can’t ask for more with the two victories we got here. Now we have a 10-point margin in the championship, and although there is still a long way to go in the World Championship, I think we are going very well. These next few days we are going to train hard, to arrive prepared for France and continue in this line, which is the good one. Today, I only had one problem in zone 8, with 3 fiascos: I took the wrong line and only there did I score 15 points. Luckily, I did well for the rest of the trial and was able to manage the advantage.”
Takahisa Fujinami: “Principio was a bit scared of how the knee would respond in this race. In the cold, I made some mistakes, maybe because I didn’t have confidence that I could hold up well throughout the trial. But as the race has progressed, it hasn’t bothered me at all. It was a shame not to be able to do a good first lap, especially with failures in zones 4 and 7, which, if done well, would have improved the standings. But despite the end result, I’m quite satisfied with the work done: it was very easy to fail.”
Adam Raga: “This second day in Great Britain was better than yesterday, although in the first section I made a mistake on every lap. On the first lap my result was not what I expected, but then we improved a lot and, in the end, we had a good last lap that allowed us to finish second. A positive result. The next race is in France, a terrain that we are better at, I hope I can be one step ahead. Today it didn’t rain and the sections dropped in level, they were easier to pass and it was a less selective test than yesterday, except in one of the areas where almost all of us scored five. That explains the very similar scores among all of us. Now there are three rounds left, there are still 60 points up for grabs, but the ten-point gap to the lead leaves us with no margin for error. We can’t relax. We have to keep fighting.”
Jorge Casales: “I didn’t start the first lap too well as in the first section I did a five, but within the bad we were able to recover in the second and third laps, as I did the last one very well, with the points in front. It’s a positive statistic, because we know we can be with the riders at the top. The truth is that I had a couple of races in which the results did not satisfy me because I think I have a higher level than what we have shown in these last two races, so today I decided to take things more calmly and concentrate, go zone by zone, step by step. And that has been reflected in the points of the last two laps. I want to thank the team for all the work they have done over the weekend.”
Arnau Farré: “Today everything went much better than yesterday, I felt very good on the bike. And so do I. The first and second laps were going well for me, until in the last one I broke a log on a descent and I did a five. In the last one, I was going to zero until the seventh zone and finally I ended up with five points, which is very good. The truth is that today I felt much more comfortable and that, the fact that the areas have been dried, has been much better for all of us. I’m happy with this seventh place, as this is the second round of the world championship in which I participate.”
