For the first time in the history of the FIM World Trials Championship, Australia hosted an event on its soil. The event was held at Maldon, on the western edge of Mount Tarrengower, in the state of Victoria, 140 km north of Melbourne over two very exceptional days.
Saturday, Albert Cabestany, like the other riders, had to fight against the rain, mud and cold. These harsh conditions made the blocks of granite areas very difficult to overcome. Albert finished third with 65 points. Toni Bou (Montesa) had 24 points and Adam Raga (GasGas) had 54. Alberts third place was based on his number of cleans versus Takahisa Fujinami (Montesa) who also had 65 points.
Sunday, despite a cold wind, the sun came out and the the terrain was much dryer. The climatic conditions were much more favorable for the trial. Takahisa Fujinami, Adam Raga and Albert Cabestany battled for third place. Despite a superb second round, Albert finished only fifth at 4 points behind Fujinami.
In the provisional rankings, Albert Cabestany is fourth with 56 points, 2 points behind Jeroni Fajardo, 5 behind Adam Raga and 21 behind Toni Bou.
Like the “World” riders, the juniors suffered because of the weather conditions on Saturday. After a great fight with Pol Tarres (JTG) who had 54 points, Alexandre Ferrer with 52 points emerged with flying colors. Håkon Pedersen finished the day in sixth position.
The next day, Alexandre clearly dominated the race. With a total of 15 points, he left second place to Francesc Moret (Montesa) who had 16 points and third place to Benoit Dagnicourt (Beta) who had 17 points. Håkon finished in 7th position
In the provisional standings, Alexandre Ferrer leads the championship with four wins out of 4 races and 80 points. Francesc Moret is second with 59 points and Pol Tarres with 53 points is third. Håkon Pedersen is seventh with 27 points.