The objective could not be achieved for Gas Gas rider Adam Raga on the second day of competition at the Grand Prix of Great Britain, the penultimate GP of the season. Although in Penrith Adam Raga couldn't achieve a victory, after his third place finish on Saturday, his second place on Sunday can be considered a good result.
Rain fell during the night and all of Sunday morning in Penrith and transformed the Trial of Great Britain into a much changed challenge and the sections have become much more technical than Sunday as the mud complicated the movements of the bike.
Adam Raga started-out looking to equalize the race with his main rival in the fight for the title, but soon moved away from the possibility of victory. Some errors condemned him to fight for second place with the other riders. At the end of the first round he stood in fourth position and Raga returned to focus on his riding to improve his score on the second lap, in which he provisionally placed third. But it was on the last lap when he guided his Gas Gas TXT Pro 300 Factory Replica into his best lap, a fact that earned him a second place finish in the end.
The differences in the front of the overall championship meant that Bou has increased his lead to ten points ahead of Adam Raga. The Gas Gas rider, however, takes nothing for lost and will fight to the last round in France, to neutralize this difference.
The other Gas Gas riders, highlighted by the sixth position obtained by Frenchman Loris Gubian, who achieved his best result of the season. The Frenchman, who could not attend the first GP because of injury, hopes to shine in the last round of the World Champonship, to be held at home. Briton Michael Brown improved over the previous day, with ninth, while the italian, Matteo Grattarola, like the Spaniard Pere Borrellas found no comfort in the English mud.
Adam Raga: "The balance is pretty good, but this race has been more complicated than expected. There were some sections that I didn't do well and cost me a lot, and also some failures in the easy ones, like breaking a tape made in a section that could be easily ridden. Victory slipped away in these easier sections. Then I was able to recover and in the last sections I was able to make a difference despite hard fall in Zone 8 of the third lap, giving me a good shot to the right leg. You had to be in tune to get second place, as the first place was very difficult. Now we just have to fight all the way into the last race. They are 10 points that separate me from Toni [Bou], but there are 40 in the game. Anything is possible. In France it would be great to get two wins, but if I do not, I just have to make a very positive assessment of the entire season. "
Junior: Jorge Casales is closer to the title
This day has been more complicated than yesterday for the Galician Gas Gas rider from the School of Champions. Casales has not been able to get another win, but managed to maximize his result with second place. Now, there are thirteen points that separate Jorge Casales, the leader of the Junior category from the second position in the provisional championship after this double GP. Casales, who has won four races this season and has scored three second places is a very consistent rider, and this can give him an advantage in the final round. Francesc Moret, also a Gas Gas rider, finished in fourth place, with the same points as the third-place rider and overall he also occupies the fourth championship position, only one point behind third place.
Jorge Casales: "I think I made a good first lap, but on the second lap I made some mistakes. Pol has done better than me and won, nothing more to say. I am first overall in the championship and only need one more race, so you have to push to the maximum. Anything can happen, and you have to be very focused to the end. I will not have a vacation, because the next weekend I will run in the Trial of Arinsal, but I think it will be good training for the last race of the World Cup. "
The next Grand Prix Trial, the last of the season will be held in the town of Isola 2000 (France) on August 31st and September 1st.
CLASSIFICATIONS
World Pro
1. Toni Bou, 39 points
2. Adam Raga (Gas Gas), 65 points
3. Jeroni Fajardo, 68 points
4. Takahisa Fujinami, 69 points
5. Albert Cabestany, 79 points
6. Loris Gubian (Gas Gas), 96 points
9. Michael Brown (Gas Gas), 112 points
12. Matteo Grattarola (Gas Gas), 126 points
14. Pere Borrellas (Gas Gas), 175 points
Junior
1. Pol Tarrés, 17 points
2. Jorge Casales (Gas Gas), 24 points
3. Jonathan Richardson, 29 points
4. Francesc Moret (Gas Gas), 29 points
5. Andy Chilton, 33 points
Provisional Championship
World Pro
1. Toni Bou, 203 points
2. Adam Raga (Gas Gas), 193 points
3. Takahisa Fujinami, 149 points
4. Albert Cabestany, 142 points
5. Jeroni Fajardo, 141 points
7. Matteo Grattarola (Gas Gas), 75 points
8. Loris Gubian (Gas Gas), 69 points
12. Michael Brown (Gas Gas), 49 points
14. Pere Borrellas (Gas Gas), 23 points
Junior
1. Jorge Casales (Gas Gas), 178 points
2. Pol Tarrés, 165 points
3. Jack Sheppard, 144 points
4. Francesc Moret (Gas Gas), 143 points
5. Cédric Tempier, 125 points
13. Kyle Middleton (Gas Gas), 30 points