Bou’s simply the Bresse
By TMX Archives on 4th May 12
ReigningWorld Trials Champion Toni Bou leads the 2012 series following two days of action in the opening round which was staged at La Bresse in north east France last weekend.
In a low scoring event Adam Raga drew first blood by just shading the win on Saturday with Bou second, but on Sunday the Repsol Montesa rider was back on top, while a single maximum saw Raga drop from second to fifth.
It proved an expensive error!
The event was staged in an overgrown disused quarry area some five kilometres up the mountain from La Bresse and the area is a privately-owned trials park.
Most of the 15 sections, which were lapped twice, were natural rocky hazards with a couple of man-made subs thrown in.
No World Championship section is easy, but the top guys knew that all these were possible and so the event was every bit as much a battle of nerves as it was of skill.
Saturday saw Raga get off to an almost-perfect start on the factory Gas Gas, easing through the opening lap of 15 sections for just two dabs, one each in sections 11 and 12, although this was just a single mark ahead of that man Bou.
These two were a long way in front of the chasing pack, whose scores were all in the 20s.
On the second lap, Bou took an uncharacteristic five on the
second section, which Raga cleaned and held a clear lead.
That was then reduced as Raga fived the difficult eleventh, while Bou showed his skill with a dynamic one.
Only Beta rider Jeroni Fajardo matched this feat on the second lap, with the rest of the field taking a maximum.
Raga held his nerve well after this though and cleaned the remaining hazards to take maximum points on day one, with Toni just two in arrears.
Battling Catalans Fajardo and Sherco No.1 Albert Cabestany ended tied on 22 marks as Fajardo enjoyed a stunning second circuit but lost out to the Sherco rider on most cleans, 24 for Cabes and 21 for Jeroni.
Three Brits packed the lower reaches of the top ten, with James Dabill claiming sixth, but a pair of fives in both the sixth and 11th hazards stopped Dibs getting a run at Takahisa Fujinami's fifth place.
And fellow Yorkshirman and Beta rider Jack Challoner was right on the pace, also with the second section being Jack's bogey.
FOR FULL REPORT AND PICTURES SEE TMX MAY 4
WORLD TRIALS CHAMPIONSHIP
Rd 1 – La Bresse, FRANCE
DAY ONE
1 Adam Raga (E - Gas Gas) 2 + 6 + - = 8
2 Toni Bou (E - Montesa) 3 + 7 + - = 10
3 Albert Cabestany (E - Sherco) (24x0) 10 + 12 + - = 22
4 Jeroni Fajardo (E -Beta) (21x0) 17 + 5 + - = 22
5 Takahisa Fujinami (J - Montesa) 20 + 15 + - = 35
6 James DABILL (GB - Beta) 20 + 21 + - = 41
7 Jack CHALLONER (GB - Beta) 25 + 22 + - = 47
8 Matteo Grattarola (I - Gas Gas) (15x0) 23 + 26 + - = 49
9 Michael BROWN (GB - Gas Gas) (10x0) 26 + 23 + - = 49
10 Danny Oliveras (E - Ossa) 33 + 28 + - = 61
11 Loris Gubian (F - Gas Gas) 44 + 20 + - = 64
12 Eddie Karlsson (S - Gas Gas) 36 + 40 + - = 76
13 Alexz WIGG (GB - Gas Gas) (9x0,4x1) 36 + 40 + 5 = 81
14 Pere Borrellas (E - Gas Gas) (9x0,1x1) 44 + 37 + - = 81
15 Gianluca Tournour (I - Gas Gas) 57 + 50 + - = 107
DAY TWO
1 Toni Bou (E - Montesa) 3 + 4 = 7
2 Jeroni Fajardo (E -Beta) (Faster Time) 2 + 12 = 14
3 Albert Cabestany (E - Sherco) 11 + 3 = 14
4 Takahisa Fujinami (J - Montesa) (24x0) 12 + 6 = 18
5 Adam Raga (E - Gas Gas) (20x0) 6 + 12 = 18
6 James DABILL (GB - Beta) 14 + 6 = 20
7 Michael BROWN (GB - Gas Gas) 20 + 20 = 40
8 Loris Gubian (F - Gas Gas) (15x0) 21 + 29 = 50
9 Jack CHALLONER (GB - Beta) (14x0) 19 + 31 = 50
10 Matteo Grattarola (I - Gas Gas) 35 + 34 = 69
11 Danny Oliveras (E - Ossa) 39 + 35 = 74
12 Alexz WIGG (GB - Gas Gas) 42 + 33 = 75
13 Pere Borrellas (E - Gas Gas) 30 + 52 = 82
14 Gianluca Tournour (I - Gas Gas) 59 + 45 = 104
SERIES STANDINGS after 1 (of 7) rounds: 1 Bou 37 points, 2 Raga 31, 3 Fajardo 30, 4 Cabestany 30, 5 Fujinami 24, 6 DABILL 20, 7 BROWN 16, 8 CHALLONER 16, 9 Grattarola 14, 10 Gubian 13, 11 Oliveras 11, 12 WIGG 7, 13 Borrellas 5, 14 Karlsson 4, 15 Tournour 3.
NEXT ROUND: May 26/27 – Mt Tarrengower, AUSTRALIA.
