Bou-ties his fourth title...
By TMX Archives on 30th Jul 10
TONI Bou tied-up his fourth consecutive World Trials Championship in style for Repsol Montesa last Sunday with a convincing victory over nearest challenger, Gas Gas number one Adam Raga, in the Italian round of the 2010 SPEA FIM series. Said Bou, My intention was to secure the Championship by winning this event and I am delighted to have done it!
The trial, staged at Foppolo, a small ski resort in the mountains some 60k north of Bergamo, was hit by torrential rain on Friday night and the sections looked impossible, but warm and windy weather during the Euro round on Saturday soon dried the terrain and on Sunday the sections almost began to look too easy. There was a good mix of sections from boulder-strewn riverbeds to steep grassy slopes and it proved a good test for the Championship class if a little on the easy side for Junior and Youth classes.
Championship
Raga pushed Bou hard on the opening lap and was just a single mark behind his foe after the opening 15 sections but while Raga improved, Toni went into overdrive and dropped just a single mark on the second lap to win by a clear margin.
Bou can now enjoy the final round of the series in the Czech Republic in September but there is plenty to ride for behind him as Raga and Takahisa Fujinami, a close third on the day, are fighting for second in the series while Jeroni Fajardo is locked in battle with Albert Cabestany for fourth.
Jeroni only just got the better of Britain's James Dabill for fourth on the day, the pair both losing 43 marks, the most cleans tie-break being equally tight, Fajardo winning by 14 cleans to 13. Cabestany dropped to seventh on the day, behind Dougie Lampkin. It was so close for these positions that had Doug not fived the first section on the second lap - after cleaning it first time through - he would have taken fourth on the day! Dibs, with this welcome result, is now clear favourite to nail sixth place in the series at the expense of fellow Brit Doug.
Alexz Wigg used his Saturday Euro round ride to finish 11th, just missing the top 10 by five points, with Michael Brown undergoing another hard day in 13th.
Juniors
JACK Challoner continued his relentless Juniors march, applying pressure on his arch rival, Spaniard Alfredo Gomez, and Britain's Beta-riding ace not only won in Italy, with Gomez finishing down in fifth place, Jack swept into a narrow Championship points lead.
But with riders in this class (and the Youths) to drop their two worst scores after the final round in the Czech Republic in September there are many permutations to take into account and so the Championship really goes to the wire.
Jack was in absolutely unstoppable form through the opening lap cleaning all 15 sections. Spain's Francesc Moret was in second place with just two dabs to his name with countryman Alex Ferrer third on six and Gomez in fourth on seven.
Challoner then had a fright as he fived the opening section at the start of the second circuit, which Gomez did also leaving Moret in a handy three point lead but he then hit a sticky patch dropping two fives and a one mid-trial which put Challoner back in the driving seat. Jack kept his head to drop just a further three marks to take a clear victory - his fifth in the series.
Jonathan Richardson then popped-up to do Jack a further favour by following-up a so-so opening lap of 11 with a stunning three mark loss second time round. This was the lowest score of the lap and boosted the Yorkshire Sherco rider up into fourth on the day - ahead of Gomez.
The final round in the Czech Republic is going to be a real battle of nerves with just 11 points separating Challoner, Gomez and Ferrer but all the signs are that Jack can handle this and he has a real shot at the title.
Youth
THERE was no similar good news in the Youth class unfortunately because although TTT Beta rider Jack Sheppard finished a fine second in Italy, his arch rival, Gas Gas mounted Pol Tarres, tied-up the series with a superb ride in which he dropped no marks through the 30 sections. It was an awesome achievement by the tall Catalan who is the nephew of seven-times World Trials Champion Jordi Tarres.
More than any other class, the Youth sections were on the easy side and Jack said, "I am disappointed as my goal was to win the World Youth Championship. Tarres has ridden well and I congratulate him on winning the title. I just wish that there had been some tougher events where one mistake doesn't mean that your day is over.
"I can still be runner-up in the World series though and I can still win the European series and this is my first full season on the International circuit. I'm looking forward to the British Championship now on Sunday.”
WORLD TRIALS CHAMPIONSHIP Rd 7 – Foppolo, ITALY
CHAMPIONSHIP
1 Toni Bou (E - Montesa) 11 + 1 = 12
2 Adam Raga (E - Gas Gas) 12 + 6 = 18
3 Takahisa Fujinami (J - Montesa) 18 + 8 = 26
4 Jeroni Fajardo (E - Beta) (14x0) 30 + 13 = 43
5 James DABILL (GB - Gas Gas) (13x0) 30 + 13 = 43
6 Dougie LAMPKIN (GB - Beta) 25 + 19 = 44
7 Albert Cabestany (E - Sherco) 30 + 19 = 49
8 Matteo Grattarola (I - Sherco) 21 + 32 = 53
9 Loris Gubian (F - Gas Gas) 33 + 26 = 59
10 Daniele Maurino (I - Gas Gas) 38 + 42 = 80
11 Alexz WIGG (GB - Beta) 44 + 41 = 85
12 Michele Orizio (I - Gas Gas) 51 + 36 = 87
13 Michael BROWN (GB - Sherco) 53 + 43 = 96
14 Mardon Moi (N - Beta) 63 + 67 = 130
SERIES STANDINGS: 1 Toni Bou 185 points (WORLD CHAMPION), 2 Raga 152, 3 Fujinami 150, 4 Cabestany 129, 5 Fajardo 126, 6 DABILL 99, 7 LAMPKIN 88, 8 Gubian 60, 9 BROWN 57, 10 Grattarola 51, 11 Maurino 47, 12 WIGG 42, 13 Oliveras 27, 14 Kenichi Kuroyama 20, 15 Tomoyuki Ogawa 15,...
WORLD JUNIOR TRIALS CHAMPIONSHIP
1 Jack CHALLONER (GB - Beta) 0 + 8 = 8
2 Alexandre Ferrer (F - Sherco) 6 + 6 = 12
3 Francesc Moret (E - Gas Gas) 2 + 11 = 13
4 Jonathan RICHARDSON (GB - Sherco) 11 + 3 = 14
5 Alfredo Gomez (E - Montesa) 7 + 8 = 15
6 Benoit Dagnicourt (F - Beta) 8 + 12 = 20
7 Tanguy Mottin (F - Gas Gas) 10 + 14 = 24
8 Matteo Cominoli (I - Beta) 15 + 10 = 25
9 Luca Cotone (I - Beta) 15 + 12 = 27
10 Hakon Pedersen (N - Sherco) 11 + 18 = 29
11 Jan Junklewitz (D - Sherco) 13 + 19 = 32
12 Emil Gyllenhammar (S - Gas Gas) 17 + 19 = 36
13 Pere Borrellas (E - Gas Gas) 14 + 25 = 39
14 Jan Peters (D - Beta) 26 + 14 = 40
15 Matteo Poli (I - Beta) 29 + 12 = 41
SERIES STANDINGS: 1 CHALLONER 160 points, 2 Gomez 156, 3 Ferrer 147, 4 Moret 129, 5 Dagnicourt 100, 6 Borrellas 85, 7 Laniel 79, 8 Cotone 60, 9 RICHARDSON 58, 10 Smage 47, 11 Mottin 45, 12 Gyllenhammar 43, 13 Maxime Warenghien 28, 14 George MORTON 26, 15 Poli 22,...
FIM YOUTH TRIALS CHAMPIONSHIP
1 Pol Tarres (E - Gas Gas) 0 + 0 = 0
2 Jack SHEPPARD (GB - Beta) 4 + 1 = 5
3 Carlos Traviesa (E - Gas Gas) 2 + 6 = 8
4 Giacomo Saleri (I - Beta) 3 + 6 = 9
5 Ismael Catalin (I - Gas Gas) 5 + 9 = 14
6 Arro Castells (E - Gas Gas) 7 + 8 = 15
7 Antoine Chantegret (F - Beta) 11 + 5 = 16
8 Romain Rigaud (F - Gas Gas) 11 + 6 = 17
9 Samuele Zuccali (I - Beta) (23x0) 10 + 8 = 18
10 Jonas Widschwendter (D - Sherco) (21x0) 10 + 8 = 18
11 Gianmaria Julita (I - Beta) 6 + 14 = 20
12 Cedric Tempier (F - Sherco) (22x0) 9 + 12 = 21
13 Kristoffer Leirvaag (N - Sherco) (20x0) 13 + 8 = 21
14 Simone Ferrari (I - Beta) 14 + 9 = 23
15 Filoppo Locca (I - Beta) 16 + 8 = 24
SERIES STANDINGS: 1 Tarres 184 points, 2 SHEPPARD 167, 3 Traviesa 153, 4 Saleri 117, 5 Catalin 105, 6 Rigaud 92, 7 Martin 72, 8 Castells 65, 9 Tempier 56, 10 Leirvaag 40, 11 Zuccali 27, 12 Cedric Tempier 19, 13 Locca 19, 14 SADLER 18, 15 Antoine Chantegret 18,... FINAL ROUND: September 5 – Kramolin, CZECH REPUBLIC.