Defending champion Toni Bou starts 2008 Indoor Series in style but with Cabestany right behind

Toni Bou achieved a brilliant victory by winning an exciting final in Marseille at the opening round of FIM Indoor Trial World Championship 2008. The defending champion overcame his fellow countrymen Albert Cabestany and Adam Raga with a little bit of luck, after he took the pass to the second lap by just a slight advantage ahead of his team-mate Takahisa Fujinami.

The Repsol Montesa-HRC star defended his crown after a hard fight and has become the first provisional leader in the general classification. Cabestany and Raga had to face a playoff section to solve the second final position in France.

The Marseille Indoor Trial was formed by a nice-looking seven section circuit, as well as a double lane race. Around 6,000 spectators witnessed the first round at Palais des Sports. The opening race of 2008 Series offered a lot of lures and interesting expectations, due to Dougie Lampkin’s debut on Beta and Cabestany aboard the new 4-stroke Sherco. Meanwhile Adam Raga attempted the first race after his hand was injured at an international exhibition trial in Sheffield at the end of December.

The new 3.2 4-stroke Sherco suited Cabestany (pictured right) very well who completed the best qualification lap, with only 4 dabs. The Spanish rider beat his countrymen and regular win candidates of last season Adam Raga and Toni Bou. The current world champion struggled a lot to assure his ticket for the final. The Repsol Montesa-HRC rider fived the opening section and had big pressure on his shoulders. Bou was the quickest on the circuit and clinched third position when he overcame Takahisa Fujinami in the dual lane. The Japanese rider offered a brilliant performance and threatened the podium places before the race against his team-mate. Jeroni Fajardo finished in fifth place, ahead of Briton James Dabill, the first participant to tackle the sections. Making his debut on a Beta bike, Dougie Lampkin had a poor night with four maximum penalties on seven observed sections, too many mistakes that sent him to seventh position overall. Local rider Jerome Bethune was tied with Lampkin although he finished eighth.

The final lap was full of changes. Bou, doubtful and inconsistent in the first lap, showed his best riding in the second half. He took advantage of his rivals’ mistakes and strengthened the first place in the last sections. Raga defended the provisional lead in the first hazards but he committed a very bad five on section 5 that put him away from the victory. Finally Cabestany gained the second position in an extra section that broke the tie between the two Spanish riders.

The next round of the FIM Indoor Trial World Championship 2008 will be held on 3rd February in Barcelona. Palau Sant Jordi Stadium is going to hold the second and maybe the toughest race in calendar.

Toni Bou: “I feel very satisfied with this nice start in the Indoor Series. This is a very important season for me, in which I defend the title. Cabestany showed very strongly with the new bike, and he could become a tough threat to the championship, but I trust I can manage the pressure of my rivals.”

Albert Cabestany: “I should be very happy with the result. I was very comfortable with the new bike, my feelings were much better with the new model than the previous 2-stroke. I had a very short time to adapt, but I’m confident to improve my feeling on the bike through the championship and I hope even to get better results.”

Adam Raga: “Third place at the opening round is not a bad result. The final was decided by little details and I lost by only two points. My injured hand prevented me from training in the past weeks and I didn’t attempt the trial in the best physical conditions.”

Toni Bou



Adam Raga



The first podium of the 2008 series.



Albert Cabestany



Albert Cabestany

REPSOL – MONTESA HRC REPORT

Toni Bou begins defending his title by winning the first event of the season

Toni Bou (Montesa-HRC Cota 4RT) won the event that has begun a new edition of the World Indoor Trial Championship in the Sports Palace of Marseille. The Montesa rider, current champion, polished his performance to the limit in an exciting play-off, after finishing third in the classification lap, scoring 11 points, the same as Takahisa Fujinami (Montesa-HRC Cota 4RT), using the time taken by both of them to decide deadlock between the team-mates. Bou finished the first pass through the seven individual zones in 9:02 and was the only participant not penalised for excess time, established at 11 minutes.

Toni Bou: “Of course, this has been the best way to start the championship. And at the same time I’ve managed to get even with this event. I think in a championship as short as this one, with only six scoring events, to win has an added value. What’s true is that we’ll have to be very careful with mistakes, because whoever makes them will find it very difficult to recover lost ground, and regarding this event; I suffered a bit in the first lap. Of course, being the current champion and defending the title means more pressure on me, but this won’t change our approach, which is identical to the one that was so successful last year; taking each event as it comes.”

Takahisa Fujinami (pictured above): “I was out of the final when I lost the parallel race with Toni. It was a question of him or me, and he was sharper at the key moment. But I feel quite satisfied, perhaps due to our equal performance. Of course, it would have been much better to begin the season on the podium. We’ll work to achieve this in the next world championship event.”



James Dabill Report
James Dabill opened his 2008 World indoor campaign with a respectable sixth place, in this his first season as a permanent rider on the tour. Dabill was just a single mark away from recording a sensational fifth position, as he pushed the far more experienced Spanish rider Fajardo right to the finish of the qualifying heat.

With his previous appearances on the World indoor scene limited to just a few wild card outings, James has a tall task ahead of him as he attempts to compete against a far more established field over the six round championship that will come to a close in mid March.

Dabill made a convincing start to the indoor season by dropping just two single dabs in the opening two sections, before cleaning the tough third hazard. However two fives later in the lap dented what otherwise had been a fantastic start for the youngster from Leeds.

The first of his mistakes came as he over shot the ‘cotton reels’ in the fourth section, before dropping short in the square concrete tubes in the very next hazard. Four time penalties for running over the eleven-minute time limit imposed to complete the seven sections, left Dabill in a head to head duel with Fajardo.

Although James beat his Spanish rival in the dual race, it was simply not enough for him to claim fifth spot after what had been a spirited performance by the young pretender. Having just missed out on a top five finish, Dabill took some comfort in having demoted his compatriot Dougie Lampkin into seventh spot.

Dabill now has a two week break from competition, to resume his training schedule, before he returns to the main arena for the second round of the series in Barcelona.

“Fifth would have been a fantastic result, so I should really be happy with sixth, but I can’t be when I was so close to beating Fajardo. Compared to the other permanent riders I am by far the most inexperienced indoors, so each event is a steep learning curve for me.”

“With what I have learnt tonight I am now looking forward to Barcelona, which is one of the biggest, toughest and most famous indoor trials in the World. To get a good result there, would be a real achievement for me at this early stage in my indoor career.”



Dougie Lampkin Report
Dougie Lampkin made a disappointing debut on his factory Beta, as he finished a lowly seventh place at the opening round of the 2008 World indoor championship held in Marseille, France late last night. This was Lampkin’s first competitive outing for the Italian team since joining them earlier this month.

Although Dougie had only had limited time to adapt to his new mount, the multi World champion arrived in the French city full of confidence following two weeks of intensive training, development and testing on the outskirts of Barcelona.

However Lampkin’s time on the two stroke had been restricted to the more traditional outdoor environment, and was treated to a baptism of fire as he attempted the indoor sections for the first time aboard his Beta.

Two cleans in the opening two sections gave Dougie a solid opening, but four fives in the remaining five hazards soon pushed the Yorkshireman down the order and left him with no chance of qualifying for the all important final.

A dejected Lampkin was forced to watch the three man final from the sidelines before travelling back through the night to his Spanish base.

Dougie will spend the next two weeks continuing with further testing and training, including a trip to Italy ahead of the second round of the series which will be held in Barcelona on the first Sunday in February.

“It was hardly the start I was looking for. It’s strange as I have been riding well over the last couple of weeks and felt good coming here tonight.”

“I didn’t feel particularly nervous, but I obviously was, and after the first two sections my arms went solid to the point where I could hardly use the clutch. Now tonight is over with, all I want to do is to focus on Barcelona and achieving a better result.”