FIM Indoor World Trial 2007
By TMX Archives on 9th Feb 07
Lisbon crosses the Ecuador of the Indoor Trial World Championship 2007
The renewed installations of The Praça de Touros Campo Pequeno, in Lisbon, with a seating capacity for more than 8000 people, will host next Saturday the 10th of February the GP of Portugal, fifth round of the Indoor Trial World Championship 2007.
The Indoor Trial Repsol Cidade de Lisboa will start at 9pm local time (GMT) and will consist of 7 sections and a double lane race. Besides the Spanish riders Toni Bou, new leader of the Championship, Adam Raga, Albert Cabestany and Jeroni Fajardo, there will be the Japanese Takahisa Fujinami and the British Dougie Lampkin and Shaun Morris, who's substituting Tadeusz Blazusiak, still with a knee injury.
After having beaten his rivals in the Palau St Jordi and having achieved his third victory in four rounds, Bou is leading again the Championship. He'll try to defend in Portuguese territory his first place in the general standings with 6 points advantage.
The nowadays world champion Adam Raga has to hurry up if he wants to reduce the difference that separates him from the Repsol Montesa-HRC rider and don't loose all the opportunities to achieve his fifth consecutive crown in the World Championship.
Gas Gas's rider wants also to improve the bad performance he offered in Barcelona last weekend, one of his favourite rounds until now. For Cabestany, Lisbon's visit can be a spirits and self confidence injection, as he had a quiet irregular starting in the Championship. Sherco's rider has an excellent track record in Portugal, with three triumphs in the last four editions. To achieve his first victory of 2007 would be great for the Catalan rider, as he's trying to cut down the distance that separates him from his rivals Bou and Raga. It also would help him to be a step ahead his closest persecutors.
Takahisa Fujinami, who was already on the podium in 2006, hopes he can demonstrate that he's in shape as he showed in Barcelona, where he climbed to the second place of the podium. For his part, Dougie Lampkin looks forward to ride as he did in Marseille, to increase his opportunities to pass to the final.
After having complete the first half of the calendar, the Indoor Trial Repsol Cidade de Lisboa can start to draw the outline of the positions. Final sprint which promises being exciting.