The 2013 FIM Trial World Championship has been a difficult campaign for France’s Loris Gubian – Gas Gas after he sustained an injury to his left knee just before the start of the series. But now back at full fitness, the twenty-four year old is looking ahead to this weekend’s Trial Grand Prix in the Czech Republic with a real hope of being back to his best. Currently eighth in the general standings, Loris may have been in an even higher position if he had not been forced to miss the opening two-day event in Japan following surgery to his damaged knee just two weeks prior to the trip to Motegi. Typically Gubian was back on a bike before many expected, although when he struggled just to finish at the French Championship a week after the Japanese GP, his decision to miss the first round of the series would appear to have been a wise one.
This is the second year in a row that the triple French Champion’s progress has been interrupted due to injury, as last year Gubian crashed out on the second day of the Spanish Grand Prix with the resulting damage to his face forcing him to miss almost the entire remainder of the 2012 FIM Trial World Championship. Although his overall ranking of twelfth place did not reflect his true potential, his efforts and his raw talent were ultimately recognised by the Spanish factory with Gas Gas providing him with a factory place this year. Loris is hoping he can repay the faith that has been shown in him by putting up a good performance in Kramolin this coming Sunday. Gubian spoke about his year to date ahead of round six of the current series.
“Like you already know it was not the best start to the year, but I am not complaining as I am not back with a 100% recovery and just to be here inside the championship is a real pleasure for me. It was good to be back in the USA, I was obviously disappointed to miss Japan, but it was the correct decision for sure. When I came back, I came back with no pressure and ready to just enjoy my riding.”
“As a rider you always want to make the best result, but also you need some luck too. With the feeling I have now I really hope I can make some good results as there is no reason why this cannot be true. The only problem is that there are many good riders and with the new rules, which are good for me, there are only a very few marks between a good result and a not so good result.”
“As a rider I like the new rules as you can go with the bike in a good way, I think the rounds in the USA and Andorra showed that we are going in the right direction with no-stop, but then in Spain it showed something that was not so nice. Anyway I think next weekend in Kramolin they have the correct conditions to make some very good no-stop sections. I really hope they can make a good test for us as I like this venue.”
“My aim is to be inside the top five or six come the end of the season, but I know this is going to be very difficult. All I can do is to work very hard in each section on each lap and at each Trial and then hopefully I will get the results I want. Each Trial is a long day, especially now that we have three laps, so you have to be strong in every moment if you want to be close to the top riders. No-stop has now given us the chance to close the gap to the best riders, so I am happy about this situation as it has given riders like me some extra hope that we can also succeed if we work hard.”
“With the support from Gas Gas I am now in a really good position, so let’s see what we can do in the Czech Republic.”