Bou's Mars attack
By TMX Archives on 3rd Feb 12
An exquisite Toni Bou (Repsol Montesa) proved once again why he is head and shoulders above his rivals, as he completed his two-night dominance at round three of the FIM World X-Trial Championship in Marseille, France.
The unrelenting Catalan outclassed his challengers for the second evening in a row, cruising to a comfortable victory five marks clear of runner-up Adam Raga (Gas Gas).
Albert Cabestany (Sherco) completed the all-Spanish podium at the Palais des Sports arena, seven-marks adrift of his slightly younger arch-rival and compatriot.
Bou laid bare his intent 24 hours earlier as he emerged from seven difficult sections during qualification with the miserly tally of just four marks.
Despite picking up a further two, courtesy of a time penalty, no others came close to his score, the tough course punishing the World's best trials riders for the smallest of mistakes.
His closest rival, Raga, was on 19!
Bou was the only rider not to five the third hazard and the only rider not to pick up maximum marks in at least one section.
Raga, meanwhile, was riding well. He was the best of the rest on Friday evening – on 19 – but Cabestany was close behind on 21, setting the scene for a tense showdown between the two Spaniards in Saturday's final.
The gruelling hazards took their toll on some of the less experienced protagonists.
Britain's Michael Brown (Gas Gas) picked up a five in every section during the qualification phase, with Alfredo Gomez (Montesa) coping little better.
Alexandre Ferrer (Sherco) performed a touch better, but was punished heavily with time penalties, while Pol Tarres (Jotagas) – who is very inexperienced on the indoor scene – showed glimpses of promise during his debut on the all new JTG machine.
All four failed to progress to Saturday's semi-final though.
Loris Gubian (Gas Gas) roused his home fans with an inspired performance on Friday evening during the qualification stage.
However, the Frenchman's luck ran out in the semi-final round as he was relegated alongside Jeroni Fajardo (Beta) who – having returned to Beta after a season spent developing the all-new Ossa – was extremely disappointed with his below par performance.
Come the final Bou made a rare mistake as he lost his balance in section five and picked up maximum points.
It was his sole error in what was one of his most polished rides this season to date.
FOR FULL REPORT AND PICTURES SEE TMX NEWS FEBRUARY 3
WORLD X-TRIAL CHAMPIONSHIP
Rd 3 – Palais des Sports, Marseilles, FRANCE
FINAL (3 sects + Semi + Lane Races): 1 Toni Bou (E - Montesa) 6 + 1 + 0 = 7 marks, 2 Adam Raga (E - Gas Gas) 3 + 7 + 2 = 12, 3 Albert Cabestany (E - Sherco) 5 + 12 + 2 = 19, 4 Takahisa Fujinami (J - Montesa) 12 + 15 + 2 = 29.
SEMI-FINAL (4 sects + Lane Race): 1 Toni Bou (E - Montesa) 1, 2 Adam Raga (E - Gas Gas) 7, 3 Michael BROWN (GB - Gas Gas) 12, 4 Takahisa Fujinami (J - Montesa) 15.
ELIMINATED: 5 Jeroni Fajardo (E - Beta) 18, 6 Loris Gubian (F - Gas Gas) 19.
QUALIFICATION (7 sects): 1 Toni Bou (E - Montesa) 6, 2 Adam Raga (E - Gas Gas) 19, 3 Albert Cabestany (E - Sherco) 21, 4 Jeroni Fajardo (E - Beta) 22, 5 Takahisa Fujinami (J - Montesa) 23, 6 Loris Gubian (F - Gas Gas) 24.
ELIMINATED: 7 Pol Tarres (E - JTG) 32, 8 Alfredo Gomez (E - Montesa) 33, 9 Michael BROWN (GB - Gas Gas) 35, 10 Alexandre Ferrer (F - Sherco) 41.
SERIES STANDINGS after 3 rounds: 1 Bou 60 points, 2 Raga 39, 3 Cabestany 39, 4 Fujinami 30, 5 Fajardo 17, 6 Gubian 16, 7 BROWN 7, 8 Gomez 5, 9 Tarres 3, 10 CHALLONER 2, 11 Ferrer 1, 12 Dagnicourt 1.
NEXT ROUND: March 3 – Palacio de Deportes, Madrid, SPAIN.Bou's Mars attack
It's three 'n easy for Toni
An exquisite Toni Bou (Repsol Montesa) proved once again why he is head and shoulders above his rivals, as he completed his two-night dominance at round three of the FIM World X-Trial Championship in Marseille, France.
The unrelenting Catalan outclassed his challengers for the second evening in a row, cruising to a comfortable victory five marks clear of runner-up Adam Raga (Gas Gas).
Albert Cabestany (Sherco) completed the all-Spanish podium at the Palais des Sports arena, seven-marks adrift of his slightly younger arch-rival and compatriot.
Bou laid bare his intent 24 hours earlier as he emerged from seven difficult sections during qualification with the miserly tally of just four marks.
Despite picking up a further two, courtesy of a time penalty, no others came close to his score, the tough course punishing the World's best trials riders for the smallest of mistakes.
His closest rival, Raga, was on 19!
Bou was the only rider not to five the third hazard and the only rider not to pick up maximum marks in at least one section.
Raga, meanwhile, was riding well. He was the best of the rest on Friday evening – on 19 – but Cabestany was close behind on 21, setting the scene for a tense showdown between the two Spaniards in Saturday's final.
The gruelling hazards took their toll on some of the less experienced protagonists.
Britain's Michael Brown (Gas Gas) picked up a five in every section during the qualification phase, with Alfredo Gomez (Montesa) coping little better.
Alexandre Ferrer (Sherco) performed a touch better, but was punished heavily with time penalties, while Pol Tarres (Jotagas) – who is very inexperienced on the indoor scene – showed glimpses of promise during his debut on the all new JTG machine.
All four failed to progress to Saturday's semi-final though.
Loris Gubian (Gas Gas) roused his home fans with an inspired performance on Friday evening during the qualification stage.
However, the Frenchman's luck ran out in the semi-final round as he was relegated alongside Jeroni Fajardo (Beta) who – having returned to Beta after a season spent developing the all-new Ossa – was extremely disappointed with his below par performance.
Come the final Bou made a rare mistake as he lost his balance in section five and picked up maximum points.
It was his sole error in what was one of his most polished rides this season to date.
FOR FULL REPORT AND PICTURES SEE TMX NEWS FEBRUARY 3
WORLD X-TRIAL CHAMPIONSHIP
Rd 3 – Palais des Sports, Marseilles, FRANCE
FINAL (3 sects + Semi + Lane Races): 1 Toni Bou (E - Montesa) 6 + 1 + 0 = 7 marks, 2 Adam Raga (E - Gas Gas) 3 + 7 + 2 = 12, 3 Albert Cabestany (E - Sherco) 5 + 12 + 2 = 19, 4 Takahisa Fujinami (J - Montesa) 12 + 15 + 2 = 29.
SEMI-FINAL (4 sects + Lane Race): 1 Toni Bou (E - Montesa) 1, 2 Adam Raga (E - Gas Gas) 7, 3 Michael BROWN (GB - Gas Gas) 12, 4 Takahisa Fujinami (J - Montesa) 15.
ELIMINATED: 5 Jeroni Fajardo (E - Beta) 18, 6 Loris Gubian (F - Gas Gas) 19.
QUALIFICATION (7 sects): 1 Toni Bou (E - Montesa) 6, 2 Adam Raga (E - Gas Gas) 19, 3 Albert Cabestany (E - Sherco) 21, 4 Jeroni Fajardo (E - Beta) 22, 5 Takahisa Fujinami (J - Montesa) 23, 6 Loris Gubian (F - Gas Gas) 24.
ELIMINATED: 7 Pol Tarres (E - JTG) 32, 8 Alfredo Gomez (E - Montesa) 33, 9 Michael BROWN (GB - Gas Gas) 35, 10 Alexandre Ferrer (F - Sherco) 41.
SERIES STANDINGS after 3 rounds: 1 Bou 60 points, 2 Raga 39, 3 Cabestany 39, 4 Fujinami 30, 5 Fajardo 17, 6 Gubian 16, 7 BROWN 7, 8 Gomez 5, 9 Tarres 3, 10 CHALLONER 2, 11 Ferrer 1, 12 Dagnicourt 1.
NEXT ROUND: March 3 – Palacio de Deportes, Madrid, SPAIN.
