Is Raga set for Revenge in France?
By G2F on 21st Jan 09
The scene is set for a fierce return match between Toni Bou Repsol Montesa and Adam Raga Gas Gas at the second round of the 2009 SPEA FIM Indoor Trial World Championship to be held at the Palais des Sports in Marseille, France this coming Saturday evening. Raga will be looking for instant revenge over his arch-rival and compatriot Bou, after having had to settle for third place at the opening encounter held in Sheffield. A mistake in the very last section of the Trial in England saw the factory Gas Gas rider demoted to the lower tier of the podium, which allowed Takahisa Fujinami to make it an impressive opening 1-2 for the mighty Repsol Montesa team. With Bou already holding a three-point lead over Adam in the championship standings, Raga will know just how important it is for him to take the victory in France this Saturday evening.
Last year Marseille had the honour of opening the World indoor series, and just over twelve months ago it was Albert Cabestany – Sherco who was the initial and perhaps shock winner ahead of Bou and Raga respectively in what was a high scoring Trial. Cabestany will be hoping his visit to the French city brings better rewards than his trip to the UK brought the 2002 World indoor champion. The leading factory Sherco rider has work to do after his disappointing fifth place in Sheffield if he is to challenge the front-runners this season.
The compact stadium always creates a special atmosphere and the usual array of unique sections normally provides a tough test for the six fixed riders who will be joined by Loris Gubian – Sherco on this occasion. Gubian, who recently celebrated his twentieth birthday will be hoping for plenty of support as he faces the daunting task of making his debut in the 2009 SPEA FIM Indoor Trial World Championship in front of a passionate home crowd.
Qualifying will begin at 19.00hrs local time in order to determine the six best riders and their starting order for the Trial proper at 21.00hrs. Six sections and one dual lane race will once again be used to find the winner, whose route to victory will not only be enjoyed by the packed crowd inside the stadium, but also by the massive live TV audience, which the Trial will be broadcast to.
2009 SPEA FIM INDOOR TRIAL WORLD CHAMPIONHIP
Round 1 – Sheffield – England
03 January - Saturday
Round 2 – Marseille - France
24 January – Saturday
Round 3 – Barcelona – Spain
08 February – Sunday
Round 4 – Bolzano – Italy
26 February – Thursday
Round 5 – Madrid – Spain
14 March – Saturday
Current FIM championship standings:
1: Bou 8, 2: Fujinami 6, 3: Raga 5,
4: Lampkin 4, 5: Cabestany 3,
6: Fajardo 2, 7: Brown 1
For more information please visit
www.fim-live.com