Adam 2nd at 1st Round Spanish Trials Championship
By TMX Archives on 28th Feb 08
Pearroya, Cordoba, 24 February 2008. Defending the GAS GAS colours, the reigning outdoor Spanish Trial Champion Adam Raga has started a new Spanish season by climbing onto the second step of the rostrum. It was in Pearroya, Cordoba, in an event marked by the rain and the new regulations which forced all the participants to keep total control of their time.
Although Adam Raga finished second behind Toni Bou, his main rival to renew the Spanish crown, the event was no easy business for the GAS GAS man after fiving the opening section, a fact that marked the rest of the trial for him. However, far from discouraging the Catalan rider, that pushed him to improve his riding section by section. In the end, his section points saw a further 2 points added due to the new rules that give each rider a limited time to tackle the five-section loops. This time, the riders counted on 74 minutes to do the first five sections the ones furthest from the paddock and 68' for sections 6 to 10, plus another 54' to do the final five. Any rider going over the partial times would add extra penalty points, which was a cause of stress for more than one rider.
This, together with the fact that the ground was very wet and slippery in the morning after yesterday's rain, and that the rain re-appeared in the final stages of the trial, has complicated the performance of many of the participants, including Marc Freixa, who was making his new debut at the commands of a GAS GAS today representing the GRONon Stop Bikes team. Despite his experience, Marc was only able to finish fifth in today's event, although he delighted the public with a good first lap. In the rest of the classes, there were also some good results for the GAS GAS riders, with Pere Borrellas, a Jordi Tarrs pupil, winning in the 125 class and Dani Cuerdo finishing second in the Senior B.
It has been a good start, since what counts in the end is the round-to-round results, said Raga at the end of the event. The second round of the Spanish Trial Championship will take place in Fraga, Huesca, on 13 April.
1st round and provisional Spanish Trial Championship standings
1 - Toni Bou (Montesa) 27 points 20 points
2 - Adam Raga (GAS GAS) 25 points 17 points
3 - Takahisa Fujinami (Montesa) 45 points 15 points
4 - Albert Cabestany (Sherco) 59 points 13 points
5 - Marc Freixa (GAS GAS) 66 points 11 points
6 - Jeroni Fajardo (Beta) 73 points 10 points
7 - Dani Oliveras (Sherco) 100 points 9 points
8 - Alfredo Gmez (Montesa) 112 points 8 points