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Raga back on top in France
A dam Raga – Gas Gas today earned his second victory of the FIM 2008 SPEA Trial World Championship at the fifth round of competition in France. Toni Bou – Repsol Montesa HRC finished second with Takahisa Fujinami – Repsol Montesa HRC taking third.
The event was set around the small town of Maisse, only ninety kilometres south of Paris, and comprised of totally natural sections, with the exception of the man-made fifteenth section in the town square. With large steps being very much the feature of this trial, overnight rain forced the organisers to make some early morning changes to several of the sections. Despite these changes, this was still a difficult event which was evident from the high scores.
Raga and his main championship rival, Bou remained tied throughout the opening five sections, but ten marks dropped by Bou over sections six and eight on the first lap, where Raga dropped just two gave the Gas Gas rider the advantage. Further fives by Bou on the last two sections allowed Fujinami to move into second place at the end of the first half of competition.
On the second lap, Bou pulled back by cleaning the tough fifth section where every other rider dropped five. This, along with a clean on the tenth section where Raga dropped five, gave Bou the lead. However a five on the very final section of the day for Bou, where Raga dropped just a single dab, saw his chance to extend his championship lead slip away. Bou still leads the championship standings by twelve points over Raga, with Fujinami in third place a further seven points behind.
The Junior championship was another high scoring event with French rider Loris Gubian – Sherco taking the win in front of his home crowd. Matteo Grattarola – Sherco took second place with current championship leader, Alexz Wigg – Montesa finishing in third place. With this weekends result, Wigg still leads the championship, but this has been cut to a mere three points over second place Gubian, with Sam Haslam – Gas Gas third in the overall standings.
The Youth championship saw Jack Challoner – Beta earn his fourth top podium position of the season to date with Alexandre Ferrer – Sherco achieving his best result this year so far finishing second. Benoit Dagnicourt – Beta finished third. Challoner now leads the Youth championship by thirty-two points over Francesc Moret who could only manage fifth place today. Third place in the standings is still occupied by young USA hopeful Patrick Smage who has had to temporarily withdraw from the championship due to a back injury.
The championship moves swiftly along with the sixth round of competition taking place in Tolmezzo, Italy next weekend.
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HONDA RACING INFORMATION
Weather: Sunny, with short heavy rain showers
Temperature: 28 degrees C
Attendance: 4500
Bou and Fujinami finish on the podium at the French Grand Prix
T oni Bou - Repsol Montesa HRC was narrowly defeated at the fifth round of the 2008 FIM SPEA Trial World championship held in France, but despite his second place the reigning champion still holds a healthy advantage in the general standings. Bou on his factory Cota 4RT was joined by his team mate Takahisa Fujinami - Repsol Montesa HRC on the podium, with the Japanese rider taking third position in the difficult conditions. Adam Raga – Gas Gas was the victor on this occasion, his winning margin being a mere three marks after a day-long battle with Bou.
The small town of Maisse, just south of Paris, hosted a tough event to welcome the series back to Europe following the previous two fly-away competitions in the USA and then in Japan. Whilst the World championship had never visited this venue before, a European round had taken place here back in 2003. The surrounding flat landscape gave no indication of the severe rock faces that lurked in the wooded areas, which surrounded this quiet town.
Saturday’s inspection of the sections by the riders was followed by a strong call to the organisers, by all the main contenders, to ease the hazards as their severity and length were too extreme. Whilst this initial request was ignored, thankfully heavy overnight rain forced the course makers to effect alterations to suit. Bou and Raga were locked together for the first third of the opening lap, before the Gas Gas rider moved into a clear lead with a stunning ride at section six. Raga maintain this slim advantage right through to the halfway point, where he headed Fujinami by just two marks, and Bou by three.
Bou on his four stroke machine, and Raga moved clear of their rivals during the closing lap, as this time they traded blows at a new and higher level. With the heavy rain showers of the morning session having now given way to glorious sunshine, the Spanish duo were at their best in the drier conditions. Their much-reduced lap scores of twenty one marks apiece created a tense finale where Raga kept his early lead to take an important victory. Fujinami maintained his form on his second lap to take third spot ahead of Dougie Lampkin – Beta, whilst Jeroni Fajardo – Beta completed the top five this time out.
Bou - 2nd : “It’s been a very tough competition today, in very difficult conditions. The sections were already looking like they were going to be a real challenge, even before the rain arrived. I am never totally happy when I do not win, but today I can at least be satisfied with my result in terms of the overall championship. I made some mistakes today, but that is not a surprise given the sections, but the problem for me was Adam was very strong today. I still have a twelve-point lead in the championship table, so I can go to Italy next week with a good level of confidence.”
Fujinami – 3rd : “The heat, plus the length and style of the sections has made it an incredibly tough trial today. I am happy to be on the podium again, as the level of riding in these difficult conditions has been very high. Toni and Adam are riding very well, and have been doing so for all of the season. Just to be close to them is a big challenge. This is an important moment in the championship, with three races in three weeks, so I am focussed on producing three good results during these competitions.”
Laia Sanz – Repsol Montesa HRC endured a dreadful showing in the Junior class, finishing sixteenth and out of the points for the first time this season. Sanz had no real explanation for her poor performance and had begun the day in good form. “It’s strange, as I made some really nice things in practice this morning and I really thought the sections, even with the rain, would suit me well. It was very hot, but that is no excuse, I think the biggest problem was in my head. I hope I can recover from this disaster in Italy next weekend.”
Repsol-Montesa HRC Trial Team
Toni Bou finishes second and continues leading the world championship.
Takahisa Fujinami also obtains a podium position again
T oni Bou (Montesa-HRC Cota 4RT) finished second in the French Trial Grand Prix held this Sunday, starting the second half of the World Championship. This result keeps the current champion in the leading position of the general classification with 12 points over his immediate rival. Takahisa Fujinami (Montesa-HRC Cota 4RT) was third, the same position as he occupies in the general classification, obtaining his seventh consecutive podium position. Bou and Fujinami are the only two riders that have been in the positions of honour of all seven events held up to now. Montesa obtained a new victory in the classification by manufacturers, widening their advantage even further.
Similar performance characterised the three riders on the podium in this seventh event of the world championship; Fujinami was only one point behind Bou and just two behind the future winner at the end of a very complicated first lap, due to the rainfall of the night before. In the second lap, Bou managed to recover, but a failure in the last zone eliminated his options for what could have been his fifth victory of the season.
Toni Bou: “Today’s result is the best example of the competitiveness of the championship. Perhaps some people were thinking that after my three consecutive victories in the last events, the season was practically decided, but I’ve always said that’s not true at all. Both Adam and Fujinami are two very serious rivals and there are still a lot of points at stake.”
Takahisa Fujinami: “It’s always good to be on the podium. I’ve been struggling to win when the conditions of the terrain were at their worst and it’s a pity that when the situation improved, I got a worse result. But the overall impression is positive.”
 Dougie Lampkin
Dougie Lampkin recorded his equal best result of the season to date, with a battling fourth place at a hot and humid French Grand Prix earlier today. Lampkin’s participation in today’s event was put in doubt, when the ex multi World champion was struck down with an extreme case of sickness early last night.
With his state deteriorating fast, medics were called to the thirty-two year old, who administered medication that quickly brought his condition under control. Whilst Lampkin enjoyed a relatively comfortable night’s sleep, the effects of illness were always going to have taken their toll on the tough Yorkshire, especially in the extremely hot weather.
Dougie did not make the best of starts with five maximums in the first eight sections, although he was not the only rider struggling with sections, which were basically too long and too hard. Lampkin had voiced his concern after Saturday official inspection of the hazards by the riders, and was joined by the majority of his rivals in calling for the sections to be eased off, for safety alone.
Down in sixth place after the first lap, and suffering the effects of dehydration due to his acute bout of sickness, Lampkin showed great resilience as he fought off cramp and pure fatigue to climb the leader board. A truly spirited effort saw Dougie pip his Beta team mate Fajardo by a single mark come the finish to take a valuable fourth place, and to move into a clear fourth spot in the championship at the halfway point in the series.
Lampkin stated, “That’s by far the best I could have hoped for today. I was some way off the leaders, but after the events of last night I can count myself lucky to even be riding today. Without the help of the medics, I don’t think I would have even made it to the start today. The heat and the severity have taken their toll, but I will OK for Italy next week.”
RESULTS:
1. Adam Raga (SPA-Gas Gas), 52 ;
2. Toni Bou (SPA-Montesa), 55 ;
3. Takahisa Fujinami (JPN-Montesa), 60 ;
4. Dougie Lampkin (GBR-Beta), 89 ;
5. Jeroni Fajardo (SPA-Beta), 90 ;
6. Albert Cabestany (SPA-Sherco), 98 ;
7. James Dabill (GBR-Montesa), 110 ;
8. Marc Freixa (SPA-Gas Gas), 114 ;
9. Michael Brown (GBR-Beta), 123 ;
10. Daniel Oliveras (SPA-Sherco), 127 ;
11. Daniele Maurino (ITA-Gas Gas), 131 ;
12. Jordi Pascuet (SPA-Beta), 133 ;
13. Jerome Bethune (FRA-Beta), 139 (0x0, 0x1, 1x2) ;
14. Christophe Bruand (FRA-Scorpa), 139 (0x0, 0x1, 0x2) ;
15. Francesco Iolitta (ITA-Scorpa), 144
World Championship positions after 5 rounds;
1. Bou, 131 ; 2. Raga, 119 ; 3. Fujinami, 112 ; 4 Lampkin, 79; 5. Fajardo, 77 ; 6. Cabestany, 76 ;
7. Freixa, 59 ; 8. Dabill, 57 ; 9. Brown, 45 ; 10. Oliveras, 35 ; 11. Ogawa, 15 ; 12. Nozaki, 14 ;
13. Kuroyama, 14 ; 14. Bethune, 13 ; 15. Maurino, 12
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