Bou looking for Barcelona glory
By TMX Archives on 8th Feb 13
IT is over a month now since the opening round of the 2013 FIM X-Trial World Championship round kicked-off at a packed Sheffield Arena with a cracking duel for spuremacybetween reigning champ Toni Bou on the Repsol Montesa and a totally rejuvenated Albert Cabestany on the latest 300cc factory-prepped Sherco.
And the series it is all ready to re-ignite this weekend in Barcelona.
The Catalan city is the spiritual home of International Indoor trials.
And on Sunday evening the Palau St Jordi – the awesome arena built for the 1992 Olympic games and which can hold 15,000 people – will reverberate to the sound of motorcycle engines as it plays host to not only the X-Trial Championship round but also the Indoor Enduro series!
The big draw for trials fans is of course the apparently indominatableToni Bou, the man who sees second place as failure and who coolly shrugged off Cabestany's excellent challenge in Britain.
But he certainly won't have things all his own way, as Barcelona is the home round for all the Spanish riders as Adam Raga and Jeroni Fajardo are Barca boys, Cabestany is from just down the coast in Tarragona, while Barcelona is the adopted city of Japanese ace Takahisa Fujinami.
Fujigas has raised his family in Barcelona and it genuinely is his home – and he has said he will continue to live there after his riding days are over.
Which we hope is none too soon as Fuji is still the great entertainer.
Raga was once the master of the Barca Indoor but the rise of Bouadversely affected the Gas Gas rider.
A poor start to the series in Sheffield was not what was needed but who knows – it just might make Adam hungry enough to really go for it.
Cabes is always a cool customer and he genuinely looked really good in Sheffield.And don't discount Fajardo as Jeroni can be counted on to come up with a cracking ride just when you aren't expecting it.
Britain's hopes lie with Jack Challoner who is in the series on merit as the best under 25-year-old on the World Championship circuit.
Our Beta boy is certainly capable of raising his game indoors as he proved in Sheffield two years ago when he held his own with the best in the world.
Sadly there is no James Dabill or Michael Brown this year which is a pity for Dabill after his strong Sheffield showing as a wild card.
The remaining guaranteed places in the series are occupied by World Junior champ, French Sherco rider Alexandre Ferrer, who is a class act and European Trials champ, Italian Matteo Grattarola.
Matteo is clearly a good rider but on Sheffield's showing the Gas Gas rider is out of his depth in this series and will be cannon fodder in Barcelona.
Full report and pics will of course be all yours in next week's issue.
