FIM X-Trial World Championship
Very much as expected Toni Bou – Repsol Montesa romped to a relatively easy win at the opening round of the 2012 FIM X-Trial World Championship held in Strasbourg, France. With the reigning champion well clear of the chasing pack, it was left to Adam Raga – Gas Gas, Albert Cabestany – Sherco and Takahisa Fujinami – Repsol Montesa to scrap it out for the remaining podium places. The two Spanish compatriots would eventually succeed respectively. As the Japanese rider was pushed off the rostrum due to losing out on a tie break with Cabestany, which was decided on qualification standings.
Qualification got the action underway with the eight permanent riders facing five sections that would ultimately determine if they made it through to the Trial itself. Michael Brown – Gas Gas had the unenviable task of being the first man through the hazards and acquitted himself well with a total of sixteen marks. This set the early benchmark as Alfredo Gomez – Montesa failed to impress on his full season debut dropping a hefty twenty-three marks.
Loris Gubian – Gas Gas and Takahisa Fujinami – Repsol Montesa then raised the bar with eleven marks apiece, with the home rider winning the eventual tiebreak for starting order. A five on the big step in the last section put Albert Cabestany – Sherco on six whilst Jeroni Fajardo – Beta was right on the leading pace with his single mark loss coming into the same hazard. Toni Bou – Repsol Montesa and Adam Raga – Gas Gas matched each other blow for blow as they both stayed clean throughout all five hazards, but it was the defending champion Bou who stole the initial advantage by crushing his compatriot in the tie decider.
Top Class: Toni Bou was untouchable in Strasbourg
Raga maintained his pressure on Bou through the opening two sections of the semi-final, despite Toni beating him in the first dual lane encounter. Only these two front-runners managed to clean the large concrete cubes as the other four qualifiers failed at the initial step. However in the very next hazard Bou was to assert his superiority by delivering an emphatic clean on the wooden pallets, whilst Adam was next best with a scrappy three plus one on time. Gubian and Fajardo were the two riders who failed to transfer to the final as they both fived the last scaffold hazard.
With Bou already well out in front, his only blot was when he was defeated by his team-mate Fujinami in the dual lane race, he then used each section in the final to stamp his authority on the event. In contrast only two marks separated the trailing three challengers going into the concluding rock hazard, which Raga almost made a mess of to concede second spot. Although in the end his single dab ride was sufficient to secure the runners-up spot ahead of Cabestany. Fujinami could count himself slightly unlucky to be demoted to fourth by a single mark on a night when he showed moments of promise.
The 2012 FIM X-Trial World Championship continues at pace with the second round of the series set to take place in Geneva, Switzerland next Saturday 21st January.
Results
1. Toni Bou (Montesa) 2; 2. Adam Raga (Gas Gas) 21; 3. Albert Cabestany (Sherco) 22; 4. Takahisha Fujinami (Montesa) 22