Last night began what promises to be one of the most exciting Trial seasons in recent years, marked by the arrival of new brands such as TRS and the consolidation of Vertigo, riders with new teams such as Raga and Fajardo, in addition to the growing emergence of young promises.
The Sheffield show, which kicked off the new season once again, was evidence that a year of big surprises awaits us.
The great protagonist on this occasion was Adam Raga, who in his first race
of the Indoor Trial World Championship
with
TRS Motorcycles
was able to climb to the top of the podium. Raga already surprised last season by breaking Toni Bou’s streak of 27 consecutive victories in the Indoor World Championship, as well as beating the nine-time champion on several occasions during the Outdoor World Championship. Adam Raga’s severe plan of training, sacrifice and motivation is paying off.
QUALIFYING ROUND
The first lap is the most feared by the participants, since a slight mistake can leave one of the favorites out of the final round and condition not only the result of the race, but that of a season of only four races where there is no margin for errors.
On this occasion, the four favorites stood out and went to the next round, captained by Adam Raga who only scored one point in the fifth zone, while Fajardo, Bou and Cabestany added a card of five points, with a triple tie that was resolved in this order.
Takahisa Fujinami, who returned to the competition after a year’s absence due to injury, finished his performance in this round with a good fifth place with 14 points, ahead of Ferrer -18 points-, Dabill -21 points- and Karlsson -30 points-.
FINAL ROUND
The six zones of the last round promised maximum excitement. The first was cleanly beaten by the four riders, while in the second it was Bou who began to complicate the victory after scoring a fiasco, by a two by Cabestany and two zeros for Fajardo and Raga. In the third it was Fajardo and Cabestany who were the only ones who penalized, leaving Raga more leader at the halfway point of the round.
In the fourth zone, everyone dropped a point, except for Cabestany, who added a fiasco. The fifth was cleanly beaten by Bou and Cabestany, with a five for Fajardo and a point for Raga.
With this scenario, Raga reached the last zone with a four-point lead over Raga, so overcoming it with at least three points guaranteed victory. In the end, he scored one point per time, the same record as his rial maximum. The third step of the podium went to Cabestany with a three-point advantage over Fajardo.
The second race, which will mark the halfway point of the championship after its completion, will be held in Barcelona on February 7.
Toni Bou: “I made a mistake in zone 2 and lost the race because of a small mistake. In such an easy race, the sections did not allow you to recover the lost points. I’m not happy, but I have to settle for second place, which is better than third. I will try to arrive in Barcelona with maximum confidence. It will be difficult this year, because there are only four races, but we will try.”
SHEFFIELD INDOOR TRIAL CLASSIFICATION 2016
1 Adam Raga – TRS – 3 points
2 Toni Bou – Repsol Honda – 7 points
3 Albert Cabestany – Sherco – 13 points
4 Jeroni Fajardo – Vertigo – 16 points
5 Takahisa Fujinami – Repsol Honda – 14 points
VIDEO ADAM RAGA VS TONI BOU SHEFFIELD 2016
