Adam Raga took second place at the start of the Trial World Championship at Motegi, Japan, while Pietro Petrangeli and Jorge Casals got the wins in Junior and Youth Cup respectively
The Gas Gas team have got off to a great start in the World Championship, taking three podium positions in different categories in the 2013 Championship which premiered this weekend at the Motegi circuit in Japan.
Adam Raga maintained the good form he has shown in the pre-season, finishing second after leading the event. The Ulldecona rider, however, scored many points, a victim of with the change in the scoring regulations, and was puzzled, as were the vast majority of participants. In the first round, Raga finished with 15, the product of three debatable maximum penalty points, and in the next two laps of the course of 12 zones, the situation was similar. Finally, the Gas Gas rider was able to stay focused and, despite the strict scoring, finished in second position.
Moreover, the Brit Michael Brown, also with the Gas Gas factory team, finished in eighth position, a finish that was bittersweet, because although he had more zeros scored than any of his rivals, he has also been penalized with more fives.
Other Gas Gas riders in Japan achieved great success in the Junior and 125 categories. The Galician rider Jorge Casalas achieved a remarkable victory by beating the champions of the Youth Cup in 2010 and 2011 and is the category leader, achieving his first goal. In the youth 125 championship, another victory for a Gas Gas rider. The young Italian Pietro Petrangeli has risen to the top, while the Czech Martin Matejicek and Spaniard, Ignacio Martin have finished in the top 10.
Adam Raga ”I’m pretty happy with how I brought the bike home in this World round: I rode very well, but the final score does not reflect at all how I handled the bike. On the first lap I was loaded with three unfair fives and also in the other laps. I think with the new regulations it will be a changed trial, it becomes very boring. We have much time, sometimes more than a minute and a half in the zone and I hope someone rectifies this. The bike was very good all day with no problems and the team has worked correctly. It was important, because we had to learn to combine the application of the new regulations to the pilot and in that sense we have done a good job”.
Jorge Casales ”It was a tough race for me, difficult terrain and muddy. I've been a bit puzzled, among which, I was away from home and the changed rules, I do not like anything. I think it cuts the qualities of trial riders”.