The European Trial Championship came to an end this weekend in Lazzate, Italy, and it did so with a final and decisive test to which Hugo Dufrese y Arnau Farré, both riders of the Gas Gas Trial Factory Team, arrived with the highest aspirations of conquering the Youth and absolute categories of the European Trial Championship. The same is true for Manuel Copetti, Vertigo rider, in the Junior category.
HUGO DUFRESE EUROPEAN TRIAL YOUTH CHAMPION 2017
Perhaps, the one who had the most complicated of them before arriving in Lazzate, was the young Frenchman Hugo Dufrese, who was second in the provisional Youth after the previous round held in Bilstain (Belgium).
However, the young promise of the Gas Gas team, only 14 years old, managed to turn the score around, winning on Saturday with his competitive
Gas Gas TXT 125
, to win his first major international title as European Youth Trial Champion – a category in which riders between the ages of 12 and 16 take part with 125 cc bikes – and which, in Italy, also had another outstanding Gas Gas rider, the British Oliver Smith, second on the podium with his teammate.
MANUEL COPETTI EUROPEAN JUNIOR CHAMPION 2017
Manuel Copetti gave Vertigo its first International Championship. The young Italian rider secured his well-deserved title this past weekend in Lazatte (Italy). At the end of the four rounds of the calendar, Copetti proved to be the best without getting off the podium in any of the competition days.
Their results demonstrate the consistency offered by our rider, who took two victories (Zelhem and Bilstain day 2), a second position (Bilstain day 1) and third place in Italy.
The day didn’t start too well for Copetti, who, feeling the pressure, made several mistakes in the opening stages. Being in front of his home crowd, and seeing the title so closely was mentally complicated, but nevertheless he knew how to stay calm and show once again why he deserved the title, starting a great comeback that would lead him to finish third. His riding on the
Vertigo Combat Ice Hell
has been outstanding throughout the Championship, always being in a position to fight for victory.
ARNAU FARRÉ COMPLETES THE OVERALL EUROPEAN TITLE WITH A VICTORY
A day later, it was crunch time for Arnau Farré. The young Catalan rider started in this last round of the calendar as leader of the top category of the European Championship, with the peace of mind that came with the 25-point advantage over his most direct rival, but also with the obligation to secure a championship that, on this occasion, was closer than ever to his hands.
And so he did in Lazzate, where he finished off the season with another victory with his Gas Gas TXT 300 GP and where he won the crown of European trial champion, the most important title in the sporting career of this young trial talent trained at the Gas Gas School of Champions in the Salt factory. His teammate, the British Dan Peace, took third place on the podium in this last round of the 2017 European Trial Championship, where his brother Jack Peace finished fourth and the Czech Martin Matejicek eighth.
Arnau Farré:
“At ten o’clock in the morning, the race started stormy. It’s rained. And the truth is that the sections have become very complicated, especially during the early stages of the first lap. At the beginning we were a bit nervous and the first sections were not easy at all. I scored a five in the fifth. However, from there, I managed to string together several zeros and everything went much better. In the second round, conditions improved. The ground has dried, we have overcome the pressure and we have managed to finish the round with only 11 points, which has finally given us the victory and the title. We had a very good feeling at Lazzate. I came into this final round 35 points ahead of my main rival, so we needed to win or finish just behind him to secure the championship. I’m very happy for myself and for the whole team after winning this title. Gas Gas has supported us 100% throughout Europe. It was three races and we knew we could do it. I want to thank Gas Gas and the RFME SPEA team for all the support they have given us this season, and also all our sponsors, without all of them this title would not have been possible.”
