RESULTS

BOU EXTENDS HIS LEAD WITH VICTORY IN SAN MARINO

Toni Bou - Repsol Montesa took another step towards securing his fourth successive SPEA FIM Trial World Championship with another convincing victory, this time in San Marino. Round six of this year's series proved to be an easy affair, with Bou taking the win by ten marks from Adam Raga - Gas Gas as he and Albert Cabestany - Sherco both returned to the podium after having been absent from the top three at the French Grand Prix.

For the second week in a row, heavy rain threatened to play havoc with the organisers’ plans, but unlike in France where the rain did arrive, it never actually happened in San Marino despite it being forecast. As a result the course proved to be perhaps a little too easy, despite the dry river bed where the majority of sections were located, being slippery wherever there was a small amount of water.

Even Bou was caught out by these strange conditions, as he dropped a nervous dab as early as the second section. Riding at the front of the pack Toni was quick to recover losing only two more marks over the remainder of the lap. Normally this would have been enough to have given Bou the initial lead, but on this occasion it proved not to be the case. Jeroni Fajardo - Beta was following up his podium place in France with an incredible first lap performance, losing a mere two marks to head the field at the mid point.

The second lap was played out at speed, with the riders perhaps concerned that the predicted rain may still arrive, which would have made conditions far more difficult. Despite the pressure Bou picked up the pace on his last tour of the fifteen dry and dusty sections, adding only one to his total. Only Raga and Cabestany could remain in touch with Bou, as they both rode their way on to the podium respectively thanks to much improved afternoon performances.

A bad five in the very last section of the trial would cruelly demote Fajardo from second to fourth after an otherwise faultless day. The Beta rider was furious with himself, and rightly so, as he allowed Cabestany to gain valuable points in the fight for fourth place in the general standings. With Takahisa Fujinami - Repsol Montesa only managing fifth spot this time out, Raga has now drawn level with him in the title race, whilst Bou heads the series by a clear thirty points with just two rounds to go.

In the Junior class, series leader Alfredo Gomez - Montesa saw his advantage at the top of the championship cut to just five points as he finished down in third place at the San Marino GP. Jack Challoner - Beta bounced back brilliantly after his poor showing in France, to win by a huge margin. Francesc Moret - Honda split the two title rivals, as he made a welcomed return to the podium for the first time since Japan.

Pol Tarres - Gas Gas produced one of the best performances of the Trial, only dropping a single mark to dominate the Youth category. Tarres' victory now puts him fourteen points clear of Jack Sheppard - Beta, as the British rider finished off the podium after winning the last two rounds. Tarres was joined on the podium by Carles Traviesa - Gas Gas and Italian rider Ismael Catalin - Gas Gas respectively.

The championship moves swiftly on, with the Italian Grand Prix taking place in Foppolo next weekend.


HONDA RACING
Weather: Overcast
Temperature: 33 degrees C
Attendance: 3000

Bou extends his lead after victory in San Marino

Toni Bou – Repsol Montesa HRC on board his Cota 4RT further extended his lead at the top of the 2010 SPEA FIM Trial Championship after his latest victory in San Marino. Bou had to fight off a first lap challenge from Jeroni Fajardo – Beta, who would eventually finish fourth, before running out a clear winner come the finish. Adam Raga – Gas Gas produced a good second lap to take the runners up spot just in front of Albert Cabestany – Sherco who completed the rostrum. Takahisa Fujinami – Repsol Montesa HRC, who celebrated the birth of his second daughter earlier this week, could only manage fifth position on this occasion.

This was the first time since 1998 that the series had visited this small and mountainous principality that sits on the east coast of Italy close to the holiday resort of Rimini. Based at the ex Grand Prix motocross circuit, the trial consisted of fifteen very dry sections. The majority of these were located two kilometres from the paddock in a dry riverbed, with the last three man made hazards being situated near to the start and finish area. The rain that had been predicted never arrived, and led to a low scoring and dusty event.

After a nervous dab in the second section of the day, Bou who was riding at the front of the pack, settled into his more normal form and only parted with two more dabs for the remainder of the lap. Whilst Bou’s total of three looked unbeatable, Fajardo went one better by losing single marks in both sections two and four. These two were clear of the field at this point, Raga being the next nearest challenger on ten, who was then followed by Cabestany on fourteen and Fujinami on fifteen.

Typically Bou on his factory four stroke machine absorbed the pressure brilliantly and was unfazed by having not led at the halfway point. His response was that of a champion in waiting, as he lost just a single mark in the tenth hazard throughout his entire second lap. No one was able to match Toni’s afternoon performance, leaving Bou to collect his second win in two weeks. Fajardo’s five in the last section of the day would cruelly demote him to fourth, as both Raga and Cabestany raised their game to finish second and third respectively. Bou now heads the general standings by thirty points, with Fujinami clinging on to second spot as he sits tied on the same points as Raga after today’s competition.

Bou – 1st: “It’s always difficult to win when the trial is so easy, as you know that one mistake can cost you so badly. We made some changes to my bike, as we knew that the conditions would be slippery even with out the rain. The changes to the settings worked perfectly and really gave me a good feeling on the bike. Fajardo made a good first lap, but I was still confident I could win as my riding was good. Again this is a good result for the championship, so I am happy with my work today.”

Fujinami – 5th: ”It’s been a very bad day for me. I started quite well, I was following Toni in the sections to begin with and everything seemed to be OK. Then in section nine I tried to ride the same style as Toni, he made it look so easy with very little throttle. I tried the same and made a big five, this was a bad mistake as this is not my style of riding. After this my confidence was low. On the second lap I recovered a little, but another mistake this time in section ten prevented me making a better result. I was happy this week about the birth on my new daughter, but now I am not so happy.”

Laia Sanz – Repsol Montesa battled hard all day in conditions that perhaps did not best suit the female Spanish rider to claim sixteenth place at the finish. “My riding was OK today, but the result does not show this. I am very frustrated as I have quite a few problems with the observers today. Even when I completed the section in time, at least twice I was given fives, this is not correct and effected my concentration.”


DOUGIE LAMPKIN
Dougie Lampkin - Beta endured a difficult day at round six of the 2010 SPEA FIM Trial World Championship. The thirty-four year old veteran who had ridden so well in France just seven days earlier, could not find the same form as the series moved onto to the small principality of San Marino. Despite not riding at all well all day Lampkin still managed to salvage sixth position, and be the best British rider on the day.

As had been the case at the French GP, forecasted rain once again threatened to turn the dust to mud. However although the skies looked dark and heavy as the start of the trial approached on Sunday morning, the rain was restricted to nothing more than a few light spots that played no part in changing the dry and slippery conditions.

Not since 1998, had the series visited this venue, and back then Dougie topped both days of competition. Returning to the ex Grand Prix motocross venue, the trial followed a similar format to what it did twelve years ago.

Most of the fifteen sections were situated in a dry river bed a couple of kilometres below the paddock, with just the last three man made hazards being close to the start / finish area. Lampkin was again praying for rain, but this time his prayers were not answered.

After two nervous dabs in the opening two sections, Lampkin was in trouble as early as the third hazard, as his hand slipped off the handlebar as he attacked the final angled slab. This was to set the tone for the day, as Dougie looked completely out of sorts in the dry and technical zones. Another five in section seven and three - threes towards the end of the lap took his tally to twenty three, at what was a low scoring event.

The second lap did not prove to be much kinder to the ex multi World champion as he again failed at section three and seven, before suffering another failure at the tenth hazard this time around. Ironically Dougie saved by far his best ride of the day to the final section on the last lap. His single dab effort on the big boulders only being beaten by eventual winner Bou on the second lap.

Despite his bad day at the office Lampkin moved a point closer to his British counterpart James Dabill in the general standings, with the elder statesman now trailing his younger rival by just ten points with two rounds still to go.

Lampkin stated: "Its been a bad day from start to finish. I have not managed to hit a line all day. When I started so badly, I did live in hope that the day was going to get better, but it never did. The sections were not my favourite, but that is no excuse.

"I think it would have been a better trial for everyone if it had rained. The sections were easy if you were on line, but were easy to five if you were off line. I have been off-line for most of the day."

"Last weekend in France I rode really well and only finished fifth, today I have been terrible and have somehow finished sixth. Let's hope I can regain some kind of form ready for Italy next weekend," ended Dougie.


JACK SHEPPARD
SHEPPARD SLIPS TO FOURTH IN SAN MARINO

Jack Sheppard - Beta was unable to continue the momentum that had taken him to two back to back wins at the last two rounds, when he slipped to fourth place at the San Marino Grand Prix. Sheppard never looked at ease in the easy sections and saw his day get even worse as he suffered mechanical problems towards the end of his first lap. To compound the situation, Jack's main rival Pol Tarres was in devastating form and romped to an easy victory at round six of the 2010 SPEA FIM Trial World Championship.

Jack would have been only four years old, when the series last visited this tiny principality close to the east coast of Italy and near to the famous resort of Rimini. Whilst much has changed in the World of trial since 1998, the event followed a similar format to all those years ago. Based at the ex Grand Prix motocross circuit of Baldasserona, the course took the riders two kilometres to the main group of sections.

These were based in a dry river bed, where water was at an absolute minimum. The threat of rain meant that the organisers had left the sections on the easy side, and when this did not arrive the trial was always going to be a battle of nerves. Jack needed steadying dabs in sections two and five to get his day underway, but his heaviest loss for the lap came in the tenth hazard. A three here took his total to eight, which compared to Tarres on clean, left Sheppard down in sixth spot at this point.

The sections were not Jack's only problem, as he was forced to change a complete clutch after section thirteen, when one of the fibre plates broke up whilst under severe load leaving debris in the gearbox that would cause ongoing issues as the day wore on. Sheppard did his best to recompose himself, in an attempt to salvage something from his day.

Whilst his closing lap of ten marks was nowhere near what his best could have been, it was enough to lift him up the closing order and into fourth place. In the end just three marks separated the sixteen year old from Suffolk from the final podium place. With the best nine from eleven counting days to decide the final championship standings' Jack will be hoping that this is a result he can afford to drop.

A disappointed Jack said: "I would rather forget today for a few reasons. I have not rode well and felt quite nervous this morning. Riding first in these conditions was definitely not an advantage for me. Knowing Pol was riding so well did not help my confidence, and when the clutch went I really knew it was going to be one of those days."

"On the second lap I did my best to forget about what had happened in the morning, and although I still made some mistakes I did manage to recover some places and was quite unlucky not to be on the podium in the end. My only focus now is to win in Italy next weekend, and to keep the championship alive," Sheppard concluded.

Jack will again spend the week in Italy with his Top Trial Team to prepare for the Italian Grand Prix next weekend.


REPSOL MONTESA HONDA
Toni Bou, virtual World Champion. Montesa raises its record of manufacturers' titles to 13

Toni Bou (Montesa Cota 4RT) is on the way towards his fourth Trial World Champion title, all consecutive. The Montesa rider won today's ninth scoring event, increasing his advantage in the general classification to 30 points. With this remarkable score, Toni Bou would just need to finish fifth in the Italian Grand Prix (next Sunday 26th, in Foppolo) to win the world championship.

With regard to manufacturers, this weekend, Montesa conquered its thirteenth title, the fifth consecutive title with the four-stroke Cota 4RT.

Second after his first run through the 15 zones, Toni Bou offered a dramatic performance in a masterly second lap, which he ended with just one penalty point and his sixth victory in the current edition of the world championship, the 30th in his personal record. Takahisa Fujinami (Montesa Cota 4RT) finished fifth and remains second in the general classification.

Francesc Moret and Alfredo Gómez (both riding Montesa) were second and third respectively, in the Junior category, where Gómez is still the leader -now with five points advantage over the second classified - and Moret maintains the fourth position. Laia Sanz (Montesa Cota 4RT) finished sixteenth, just outside the points zone.

Toni Bou: "It was been quite an easy trial, but to start before the rest always complicates things. Despite some small mistakes, everything turned out very well and I must admit that the day was perfect, with the manufactures' title won by Montesa and with a larger advantage for me than I've ever had before and just two events to finish the season, making my possibilities to retain the title very strong. Even so, better not to cry victory yet or take anything for granted. In the best case it will be next Sunday; two days after which I plan to take my holidays and sincerely, I'd love to leave with the title in my hands."

Takahisa Fujinami: "After a victory and a second position it's been difficult to finish fifth. Things didn't turn out well for me and I made some mistakes. There's no other explanation, and I wasn't affected by the injury of my right foot last Sunday. It's been a very good day for Montesa and Toni, but not for me. There are two events to go, and I'll do my best to win the sub championship, as I think Toni's unreachable".