Adam Raga scored his second win of the season in a very smart race, beating reigning champion and provisional leader Toni Bou by just one point. The third step on the podium has been, once again, for Takahisa Fujinami, who adds his fourth podium of the season and the third in a row. This allows the Japanese rider to equal Cabestany on points in the provisional standings, who finished in fourth position in the British race, just one point behind his rival.
The halfway point of the 2011 Outdoor World Championship has already passed and, although everything points to Bou being able to renew the title, his rivals are not making it easy for him. Raga has already warned in France and has done so again in Great Britain. The Gas Gas rider has managed to cut three points off the rider from Montesa and the gap between the two is reduced to 15 with 100 more to play; Therefore, anything can still happen.
In Fort William, famous for being the venue for the famous Six Days of Scotland, we once again saw a difficult race and really high scores. This was due to several factors, although the main causes were the high level of the areas and the humidity conditions of the soil; on the other hand, time penalties. In the absolute category, all drivers incurred penalties for this reason. However, even if these were high, they would not change the test result. Raga was penalized two points; Bou one; Fujinami eight; Cabestany three and Dabill eight.
Bou made it clear in his statements: “We knew from experience that this is the World Championship event that penalises the most those who open the track, so the second position is not a setback”.
This justifies the problems that Toni had in the first lap, where he committed three fiascos that would condition him throughout the race. In all cases they took place in areas where his rivals did not have serious complications to get off the “several” and where Toni himself would pass on the second lap without problems.
Raga had a very intelligent race, achieving a tie with Fujinami at the end of the first lap at 18 points (the Japanese would add 4 more per time to 1 for the Tarragona native) and knowing how to manage that advantage very well in the second pass through the zones. Here Bou would score the lowest partial of the race (9 points), but it would not be enough to stop his main rival, who after adding 10 more to his card got the victory by a minimum difference.
Fujinami lost strength on this second lap, returning to penalize 4 additional points for time, which were about to knock him off the podium in favor of Cabestany. The rider from Sherco, recently recovered from his ankle injury, had the podium in his hand until the last section, where an untimely fiasco forced him to give in to his main rival in the provisional classification.
It was a good race for the British riders Dabill and Brown, who driving “at home” managed to overtake their main referent: Jeroni Fajardo. The rider from Ossa put in his worst performance of the year, to which both the high penalty in sections and the 11 points for over-time contributed to it.
In Junior we witnessed the first victory in Junior of Pol Tarrés, who beat the current leader, Alfredo Gómez, in the tiebreaker for the highest number of “zeros” (15 against 14). The Spaniard, despite not winning, strengthens his lead by beating his main rivals, in this case Francesc Moret, who was finally third. Apparently, RFME will not send its drivers to Japan, where 50 points are up for grabs, so it could all be in the hands of Benoit Dagnicourt going to Motegi and managing to score those 50 points.
In the Youth category, the tone of the whole season was maintained, with a resounding victory for Jack Sheppard. The Beta rider, who is practically assured of the world title, was accompanied by the Frenchman Coquelin and the Italian Saleri.
The next race will take place on August 20 and 21 at the Twin Ring Motegi circuit (Japan), owned by Honda and the usual venue for the Japanese outdoor trial world championship.
Toni Bou: “We knew from experience that this is the race of the world championship that penalises the one who opens the track the most, so this second position is not a setback. The most important was to achieve it by fighting until the last moment and finishing just one point behind the winner. It was a tough test with some areas that slipped a lot. In cases like this and considering our situation in the World Championship, finishing second is always positive.”
Takahisa Fujinami: “I was satisfied with my first lap, but on the second lap it rained a bit, the sections were more slippery and I felt a bit fatigued. The result is good and with this third consecutive podium I have caught up with the third classified in the general standings. This makes me feel very motivated for the next race, in my country, an event that means a lot to me”.
Adam Raga: “I’m really very happy. Today everything went very well, despite the rain and the fact that it was a particularly tough race. Throughout the trial we rode very well and I felt comfortable, although mainly I’m happy because in the end I was able to withstand the pressure well and finish the race. It was one of those days where you ride at your best and everything goes the way you want, unlike other races where you give it your all but the result is not so bare
This is the first time that we have been able to It wasn’t easy at all but it was a great trial. There is no doubt that we are on the right track, so the aim is to continue like this and repeat this triumph in three weeks’ time in Japan. I’ll have to open the areas there, but I don’t care… I wish it was always like this.”
Text: D.Quer / Photos: FIM
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