Toni Bou - Repsol Montesa HRC recorded a win and a fourth place over the two days of competition in Andorra that marked the fifth round of the 2012 FIM Trial World Championship. Albert Cabestany - Sherco brought Bou’s winning run to an end by taking victory on day two, but despite missing out on a podium place for the first time this season Bou still holds a forty point lead in the general standings with just two rounds to go. Jeroni Fajardo - Beta was the highest points scorer in Sant Julia De Loria, after he finished runner up on both days. Takahisa Fujinami’s - Repsol Montesa weekend ended with a disappointing fifth spot on the second day following his podium appearance twenty four hours earlier.
Andorra has become a familiar stop on the FIM Trial World Championship, with the small principality situated in the eastern Pyrenees mountains having first hosted a round of the series way back in 1992. Since then the steep sided valley that looks over the town of Sant Julia de Loria has been visited on fifteen occasions prior to this weekend’s Trial GP. Andorra remains the highest Grand Prix in the calendar. The sheer gradient of the rocky terrain coupled with the altitude – almost 2000 metres above sea-level – mean that this venue is always a tough test for man and machines especially if severe heat is added to the mix. Saturday’s test was played out under clear blue skies and sufficient heat for it to be a factor.
For once, Bou on his factory Cota 4RT was on the back foot as he failed the fourth section to allow Cabestany to open an early lead as he and Fujinami became the only two riders to pass this zone without taking maximum marks. Section ten proved to be the next defining zone as Bou notched up his second five of the lap whilst Fajardo and James Dabill – Beta went clean, and Fujinami recorded a single dab ride. At the end of lap one Bou found himself tied in second spot on ten marks with Fujinami, and having to play catch up on the mid-point leader Fajardo who had dropped six marks over the same period. With his left thigh strapped over the top of his one piece suit, Bou moved things up a gear losing just one mark for the entire second lap to steal the victory from Fajardo who did enough to hang on to second spot and leave Fujinami as the final podium place finisher. This marked Bou’s eighth straight win.
Four sections were modified ready for Sunday’s trial to ensure the correct level of severity now that the riders were familiar with the terrain.
Unlike the day before Bou started strongly losing marks only in section four and fourteen on his first lap, to put himself on two marks at the halfway stage and two clear of Cabestany, who had a narrow advantage over Fajarado at this point. However failures in the same two hazards a lap later would see Bou demoted to fourth come the finish, his five in the penultimate hazard dropping him from being leader to being off the podium in a split second.
Cabestany held his nerve well during the closing lap to edge out Fajardo, and to take a well-deserved and overdue win. A more consistent showing from Adam Raga - Gas Gas earned him the final podium place this time out and after he failed to reach the rostrum on day one. With Bou now holding a forty point lead, he can potentially clinch the title for the sixth successive season at the next round in Italy in two weeks time.
Toni Bou “It has been a mixed weekend for me. On Saturday I was pleased with my riding. I made some mistakes on the first lap, but even with the problem with my leg I made an incredible second lap to take the win from Jeroni (Fajardo). Sunday was another type of story, as in the morning I felt strong and confident, but on last lap again I made some mistakes. I was unlucky to take five in section four for touching the flag, but it was my error in section fourteen that caused the five. I moved too far forward on the bike and lost grip at the wrong moment. With the trial being easy, these errors have really punished me. It is not a good result for the championship today, but I will be ready to fight again in Italy.”
Takahisa Fujinami “Like Toni (Bou) my result on day two has not been good, which is a shame as I rode well on Saturday and was quite close to second position. My objective is to be on the podium each time I ride, so when this happens I can be happy and when it does not happen I can not be happy. The level of riding today has been high, as I only made small mistakes on the first lap, but still I could only take fifth position. I tried to push hard on the second lap, but again I made more mistakes and finished a long way from fourth place. It is clear that I need to be back on the podium in the final rounds to improve my position in the championship.”