Adam Raga retakes the lead of the Spanish Championship after winning the third round, held in the Madrid town of Lozoyuela, with a Toni Bou, who only dropped one point, he could do no more than support him on a podium that was completed by Fujinami.
The weather proved to be the decisive factor in Lozoyuela, a cold town with a trial tradition, located in the north of the Community of Madrid. On Saturday, during the reconnaissance of the areas, there were already heavy downpours and hailstorms that forced the rethinking of certain areas for the TR1 by the organization. Consequently, the final level of the areas was at the mercy of the weather: if it rained, the trial would be very selective; Otherwise, it would be harder to make a difference.
Sunday, race day, dawned with intense cold and the timid presence of snow , conditioning the first passage through the areas to the first categories, which began their journey at 8:30 in the morning. The TR1s were luckier, as the day ended up opening and when it was their turn, after 12, the sections were dry and with good grip.
The areas, mainly dominated by large stone steps , were impeccably marked by the Valdemanco Motoclub and the Madrid Motorcycling Federation, combining spectacularity with accessibility for fans. However, some TR1s, such as Jorge Casales, pointed out that perhaps certain areas were too dangerous.
Be that as it may, the TR1 started their journey with Raga at the front , completing each section very concentrated, without making mistakes and finishing the 24 sections (12 zones for 2 laps) with a spectacular record of zero points. Perfect. The provisional leader until Lozoyuela and main favorite, Toni Bou, was no less than the winner, but a foot in the fifth zone left all his chances of victory in the hands of a Raga who did not forgive today.
Both riders stood out from the rest throughout the day, leaving important readings ahead of the Outdoor World Championship, which will begin in a few weeks. The first is that Raga has already forgotten the bitter third place in the World Indoor Championships and outdoors he is a greater threat than last edition for Bou. There are already two victories for Gas Gas, against one for Montesa. An important psychological blow, therefore, for the reigning Spanish Champions.
After the leading duo there was another duel, although more scaled, starring Fujinami, Fajardo and Cabestany. The Japanese, who came to Madrid to take the pulse of the outdoor areas, It was a great performance, despite the fact that areas were being closed and having few references of their rivals. His success and a few too many mistakes by his rivals, propelled the Japanese to the last step of the podium.
The case of Fajardo, fourth , was curious, which went from more to less in the passage of the zones. In fact, they only dropped 2 points in the first pass through the zones, compared to 13 in the second. This record weighed down the good performance of the Beta rider, who beat Cabestany by a margin of 6 points. The Sherco rider was not happy with his riding and the lack of success in the first pass through the sections finally placed him in fifth place.
Fantastic performance by Moret and Borrellas, brilliantly overcoming really strong areas and getting closer in their partial records to the riders who set their references. The tiebreaker on points between the two went to Moret, with two more “zeros” to his credit.
Closing the standings, but also brilliant, were Jorge Casales and Gianluca Tournour. The Galician, recently promoted to TR1 and only 16 years old, suffered more than expected, but left impressive brushstrokes to all the spectators. Undoubtedly, Jorge will give us pleasant surprises in the future.
Tight result in TR2 , with victory for Carles Traviesa, followed by Iván Peydró and Marcos Méndez.
In Junior , Jaime Busto played a great role again, counting his participations by victories, followed by Ignacio Martín and the local rider Nachette Fernández.
In the Cadet category, victory went to Marc Riba on his birthday, followed by Villabrille from Asturias and Mariano Martín.
In TR3 another victory for Recio, followed by Marc Horrach and Tino Bañón. Regarding the +35 category, the victory went to Jesús Martín, seconded by Ramonet and Ruben García.
Text and photos: David Quer
Adam Raga: “It wasn’t an easy race. The cold was incredible, but everything went well and I’m very happy. I wanted to take advantage of the fact that I started first to try to follow my own strategy and my own pace, and the truth is that it went well.
I rode without pressure and in a couple of hours I managed to finish the race. It wasn’t an extremely difficult trial, but it wasn’t easy either. Some sections were quite tricky and long, so in this respect I think it was a good race.
I’m very satisfied with the win and it shows that we’re in a position to fight at a high level, although we need to be a bit more consistent. I will work in this direction to keep improving.”
Toni Bou: “The race was easy and in these conditions we already know that recovering a mistake, no matter how small, is a complicated task. I started in a position where it was difficult for me to go fast and even if I had tied at zero points with the winner, I am sure that for time he would have beaten me.
It has been a bit of a strange trial, in which it has been clear that Adam [Raga] is strong and for the World Championship this is good information. The important thing is that I felt good with the bike, in good physical shape and ready to start a new World Championship.”
Takahisa Fujinami: “As I don’t usually compete in this championship, I started last and I went a bit fast to catch up with the group of favourites and be with them. I have made a somewhat absurd fiasco and a few points for the minimum. Overall, I’m satisfied with this result and I value this podium which, without a doubt, gives me good prospects for the World Championship.”
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