In Sequatchie, where he won in 2006, Adam Raga has again achieved a major victory in a World Championship Trials race. After initially being somewhat puzzled by the application of the Non-Stop rules in Japan, the second round of the World Championship, in the United States, has rewarded the Gas Gas rider for his work that he has done during the pre-season.
Raga, who introduced the new Gas Gas TXT Pro 300 Factory Replica at the World Championship, started the day with caution, since some of the zones were rather easy, although they can always surprise with a rise in difficulty. In fact, section 5, one of the most complicated in the Trial, he committed a mistake and suffered a five point penalty, followed by one point in two additional sections as well as one point for a time penalty, resulting in his finishing the first lap with eight points and tied with Toni Bou. Jeroni Fajardo had the best score in the first lap.
However, in the second lap, the Gas Gas rider applied himself and completed the lap without penalty. In the third and final lap of the Trial, he was penalized only one point, so mathematically he was awarded the victory for this first day of the U.S. Grand Prix. This victory means that Adam Raga has gained points and is in second place in the championship, only two points behind Bou.
The other riders on the Gas Gas Team, the Frenchman Loris Gubian and the Italian Matteo Grattarola occupied the seventh and eighth positions respectively, and Pere Borrellas has earned his first World Championship points.
Podium in Junior
Two members of the factory program Gas Gas School of Champions, Francesc Moret and Jorge Casales earned places on the podium of the U.S. GP in the Junior category. In Sequatchie, the two riders were very close to victory. After a first lap with some errors, they recovered to finish on the podium, after the winner and category leader, the Brit, Sheppard. Casales had the best loop score in the Juniors with no penalty points in the second lap.
On Sunday will be the second and final day of the U.S. Trial Grand Prix. The loop is about ten kilometers, with 12 sections, that will be faced three times.
Adam Raga: “I am very happy. It was an important race. The zones seemed very easy at first, not showing very many points. I am very happy for this victory that we achieved; it shows that we are doing a good job. Here it is difficult when you have a score so low. I want to thank my team, my backpacker, mechanic, and crew chief Santi Navarro, together we have achieved this victory.”
Francesc Moret: “Too bad! Only one point from winning. It was a rather easy Trial and we’ve played in a couple of the sections, but you mustn’t put your guard down at any time. After Scotland I took several days without training because of tendinitis in my right arm, and this made me doubt my condition at some point, but in the end I saw that it was good. Too bad for my failure to exit one zone where I made a fiasco or I could have achieved a victory.”
Jorge Casales: “It has been very tight and the judges have been quite permissive. Sections for our level, were too easy. A fault in the third lap in section three cost me the Trial. Still, I am happy because I have recovered the sensations and positions in the championship. I hope tomorrow will have more difficult sections so I can do better.”