Blood, Sweat and Triumph for Toni Bou
By TMX Archives on 11th Feb 08
Repsol Montesa-HRC Toni Bou was the victorious rider at round three of the Indoor Trial World Championship in Southern Spain Granada, edging out Albert Cabestany and Takahisa Fujinami in another exciting edition of the series.
More than 3000 spectators were in attendance at the Palacio de Deportes toenjoy the seven mdium-high timed zones set up for the Granada IndoorTrial.
Once again, British representatives James Dabill and DougieLampkin had disappointing races, occupying the final places on the leaderboard.Montesa rider Dabill broke his bike on zone two, adding to his woes, whilstLampkin continued to struggle with his Beta machine.
Jeroni Fajardo wasalso far from the podium battle, with the final three to be decided betweenFujinami, Raga, Cabestany and Bou. In this latest round of the Trial series, theJapanese Montesa-HRC star finally broke his rostrum duck for the season at theexpense of Barcelona race winner Adam Raga, who took a point in the head-to-headand missed out on the rostrum due to Fujinami's better time total.
Boubegan the final round in fine form, showing his class on the first zone. TheSpaniard was, however, dealt a blow both figuratively with a fall on zone two.The incident left the reigning champion needing treatment after opening up anasty looking gash on his head, with the delay causing him to miss the thirdzone.
Bou eventually managed to take control of the race after the duallane with his skill combining with mistakes made by his two rivals. Hemathematically sealed the win on last part of the trial The runners up were madeto pay for their penalties.
The win was a popular one in Spain, where thepast two rounds of the indoor series have taken place and where the championshipenjoys its highest level of popularity. Bou now heads the overall classificationby six points, ahead of Cabestany, now second and seven on Raga,third.
The Granada Indoor Trial concluded, the World Championship takes ashort break before returning in March for the Lisbon Indoor Trial. Toni Bou:After I crashed I felt a little bit dizzy and I was thinking about giving up.But I recovered and finally I could complete the race. It's incredible to getthis result in these conditions, I'm glad with this new victory.
AlbertCabestany: I was looking for the win in Granada. I rode very well on thequalification lap but I was not at my best at the final. I was shocked by Bou'scrash. He's a very good friend and I lost a little theconcentration.
Takahisa Fujinami: Finally I reached a podium placeafter a hard fight to get it. This season. I'm working hard physically andpsychologically and I'm obtaining the first results. Toni Bou has taught anincredible lesson and we all should learn from him.
Granada Indoor Trial Round 3
Qualification Lap
James Dabill 33 penalties
Dougie Lampkin 22
Jeroni Fajardo 17
Adam Raga 7
Takahisa Fujinami 7
Albert Cabestany 6
Toni Bou 5
Final
Takahisa Fujinami 26 penalties
Albert Cabestany 24
Toni Bou 17
Indoor Trial World Championship 2008
Provisional Standings
1. Toni Bou 28 points
2. Albert Cabestany 22
3. Adam Raga 21
4. Takahisa Fujinami 16
5. Jeroni Fajardo 12
6. Dougie Lampkin 8
7. James Dabill 7
8. Jerome Bethune 1