Toni Bou has added another victory in the Outdoor Trial World Championship, adding six out of a possible seven. The gap in the provisional standings to his closest pursuer, Albert Cabestany, is already 32 points with six more races to play. The rider from Piera, therefore, has managed to take a new step forward towards his greatest objective: to revalidate the world crown.
In the Spanish GP, held in Peñarroya-Pueblonuevo (Córdoba), the first day was marked by equality. This time Bou sweated more than necessary to get to the top of the podium. In fact, the day began with dominance by Albert Cabestany , who closed his first set with 11 points, followed by Bou and Raga with one more, 12. Fajardo, who until yesterday was second in the provisional standings, dropped to 19 points and, although he did not lose all his options, he moved away from the fight for victory.
On the second lap Bou managed to turn the result around. After setting some good times, only marred by a fiasco in zone twelve, where the previous lap passed cleanly and his main rivals did not have too many problems. Despite this, his second set of 8 points earned him a new victory, this time ahead of Cabestany, who worsened his first set by one point and had to settle for second place; of course, ahead of his main rival, Adam Raga, who was third.
This result allows Cabestany to resolve the tiebreaker of the provisional with Fajado at his favorand consolidate second place. Also noteworthy is the performance of Dani Oliveras, eighth, which confirms his sporting progression.
In Junior, another victory for Alexandre Ferrer, followed by Francesc Moret, who maintains his good streak of results. Undoubtedly, the great news of this category in the Spanish GP has been the third position of the Galician Jorge Casales in his first year as a Junior. This podium is an injection of motivation for one of the main promises of Trial and reward for having had to cancel his participation in the Australian and Japanese GPs due to budget.
Tomorrow, Sunday, the second round of the Spanish Trial GP will be held.
Text: Trialworld / Photos: FIM
Adam Raga: “Everything went very well and I’m happy with the race. I think we had a good trial and at all times we were fighting for the win. The pity has been the date I have thrown and the five that they have given me for it because, if it had not been for this penalty, I would surely have managed to win. Even so, and despite the very heat we have been through, I have really enjoyed the bike and the areas. Everything went well today and we were very close to winning. I hope that tomorrow everything will go even better and we will be on the top of the podium.”
Toni Bou: “I’m satisfied with the win and with these extra points that I have as the leader of the Championship, but I’m also worried about what could happen tomorrow. A priori it will be a complicated day. We’ll see how I spend the night, how much I recover and, ultimately, if I’m in a position to fight for the win, which at the moment I feel will be quite difficult.”
Takahisa Fujinami: “I don’t have much to say, just that it’s been a tough day. I have suffered, but I wanted to finish; I had to do it and I have succeeded. We’ll see what happens tomorrow. I know I will suffer again, but I will not give up trying as hard as I can to achieve the best possible result in these conditions.”
Jorge Casales: “It was a very tough race, especially because of the very long, technical sections and the heat we endured throughout the day. I feel very satisfied with the bike, the team, my father and Arjones. I’m sure tomorrow is going to be a very tough day and I’m confident I’ll give my best again and be at 120%. I also want to thank Trialword for their support and of course all my sponsors: Gas Gas, Ver Racing Italy, Arai Helments, Midland, Puntomotero and Arjones Motos.”
