After the now classic victory of the Spanish squad in the Trial of Nations, a new edition of the Outdoor Trial World Championship comes to an end. After the absolute dominance of Toni Bou throughout the short indoor campaign, the vast majority foresaw a replica of these results, but it really has not been the case and for the first time in the last five years the Piera rider has had to reach for the calculator.
We can affirm that, with the permission of the great Bou, the real protagonist of this edition has been Adam Raga. The Gas Gas rider was the only one capable of intimidating Toni and giving excitement to the championship, snatching victory in 4 of the 11 scoring races, dropping out of the places of honour on only one occasion. Raga already knows he can beat Bou. That extra confidence has allowed him to take risks and find the formula to be back on the top of the podium; Now, with the satisfaction of having carried out a splendid campaign, Raga will try to get rid of the thorn in the competitions that are still open: Nacional Outdoor and CETI.
This fight could perhaps have been a matter of three if the controversy had not hit the World Cup with the dispute of the G.P. of Japan. The critical situation of the country after the tsunami and subsequent accident 
nuclear power, caused the pilots to disagree as to whether or not to attend Japan. Raga was adamant about staying there, while Bou was forced to follow in his rival’s footsteps if he didn’t want to lose the title. The one who stayed at home was one of the great contenders for victory in each race: Cabestany.
Finally, the only thing that affected Japan’s GP in the standings was that Cabestany put Fujinami on a platter in third place in the championship. The one who did not know how to take advantage of the advantage was Fajardo, who with two more races scoring points compared to the Sherco rider has not been able to overtake him in the final classification.
Many conclusions can be drawn from all this, especially if we take into account information that has not yet come to light.
We have sources that claim that Toni Bou had an important approach to Beta and left open the door to return to the two-stroke engines riding a structure with the Beta Factory team and Monster as the main sponsor. Apparently, Bou’s motivation with a bike that does not evolve and is lagging behind that of his rivals could be the cause of the Consider a change of scenery towards the brand that has seen him grow sportingly.
No one doubts that Bou is the best rider in the world, but this year his superiority has not been so clear and his rivals are getting closer and closer. In addition, the rider from Montesa continues to work on a very competitive bike, but as he himself said in a recent interview with Repsol: “the evolution of the bike has been stopped for years”.
While this is happening, Gas Gas, Sherco or Ossa do not cease to evolve their mounts, following guidelines completely opposite to those of Montesa, which is taking a decision made in 2005 and where there seems to be no return.
However, it didn’t take long for Repsol to speak out and make a succulent counteroffer to the ten-time World Champion. And that’s where the soap opera ends. In this way, next year we will see Bou defending the crown on his usual bike, the Montesa Cota 4RT, presumably with few brand changes also among his rivals. At the very least, Cabestany and Raga, who are their main threat, will continue with their respective brands.
The excitement is served!
Text: David Quer
