Without doubt, the best of Adam Raga is back and in the United States he showed this, winning both days of competition in the second round of the World Trial Championship. The American test, much more demanding on Sunday after changing some sections, has given excellent results for the Gas Gas team riders.
Adam Raga came out strong in the second day of the U.S. Grand Prix Trial, scoring only a few small points, but even with those, he finished the first lap leading the race. He was comfortable, and even more so after the victory achieved yesterday. However, with the Gas Gas rider on course to repeat his '0' of yesterday in the second lap, a mistake on one of the zones tied the score with Toni Bou, the only rider who challenged Adam’s Sequatchie victory after the rest of the field made several mistakes.
The third and final lap was a real nail-biter, with uncharacteristic errors from the two top riders, but the Gas Gas rider, in the end managed to control the pressure and finished the race with the same points as his opponent but with more zeros (28 for Raga and 27 for Bou), which is the decider in a tie-break situation. With this result, Adam Raga is positioned as the leader in the standings, one point ahead of reigning champion Toni Bou.
The remaining Gas Gas Factory Team riders, Frenchman Loris Gubian, the Italian Matteo Grattarola, and the Spaniard Pere Borrellas occupied the eighth, ninth and thirteenth place in the standings.
Victory also in the Junior
After the experiences of Saturday, the Gas Gas riders really went for it on the second day of competition. Jorge Casales, the brilliant Gas Gas rider from the School of Champions program, dominated the race from the beginning, but an error allowed Francesc Moret to take the second and third laps, giving him the final victory. Casales, who tried to regain the lead on the last lap, but made another small mistake, and was left in second place by a single point. Although the Galician feels good about the result, mostly because the difference between himself and the the championship leader has now been halved: Now only 6 points separate Sheppard and the Gas Gas rider.
Adam Raga: “Great. It has been fantastic, this GP. The race, the bike and the team has all gone very well. In the first two rounds Toni and I have been at a high level, extraordinary, because the rest have been taken down. On the last lap, the pressure may have led us to make more points. Winning has not been easy and I'm very happy because I have shown a good level. It is good to leave here as the championship leader: the motivation, confidence for the next races, for the brand ... Gas Gas is proving to be up in the number 1 and this is huge. I'm making steady progress despite my rivals who do not make anything easy, I want to fight to the end for my goal: the victory."
Francesc Moret: “It's been tough. We've played the whole trial with Casales and in the end we won by a point. In the first round an absurd mistake, and another in the final with a 3 in an easy area, but I was able to counter it with a zero in the most difficult.”
Jorge Casales: “Finishing second is not a bad result. It was good because we have cut the points advantage of the leader. The race today was pretty tough, they have raised the level of the sections. I started well and scored the best score in the first round, but in the second a mistake did happen to me and it passed to Moret. On the last lap I also made a mistake and I just missed winning the race. Moret is a great rider and I'm sure he'll be battling all season. I'm happy with how it went with this GP: this place is very much like my Galicia and I felt good."