The 2012 Trial World Championship concludes after the two scoring rounds scheduled in Penrith (United Kingdom). Toni Bou was once again the main protagonist on both days, scoring two victories in a convincing way and reaching his 50th victory in the Outdoor Trial World Championship .
Toni Bou, with the title already sealed in his favour since the Italian GP, was riding impeccably and without the pressure of the result. This fact, together with the fact that in Penrith the sections have been more complicated than usual, the rider from Piera has been comfortable throughout the weekend.
The real excitement of this last Grand Prix, however, was to see how the runner-up position would be resolved. Fajardo, Cabestany and Raga were the main candidates. On the first day, Fajardo had a small lead of three points in the face of the runner-up spot, while Cabestany lost steam and faced the last day in a draw with Raga.
In this great fight on Saturday we found the local rider James Dabill, who was placed in the “top 5”. On Sunday, I was back in front. His first pass through the fifteen zones provisionally placed him in fourth position with 19 points, just behind Fajardo with 18 and Raga with 14. Bou captained with an iron fist, signing a stratospheric record of only 6 points.
Those who lost practically all their chances of hooking up to the places of honor were Cabestany and Fujinami, who with 29 points at the halfway point of the race had little room for manoeuvre. Surprisingly, another local driver was also in this group : Jack Challoner.
On the second lap Bou maintained his high pace, but next to him was one of the contenders for the runner-up: Raga. The rider from Tarragona would commit a fiasco in the third section, but he completed the rest impeccably, securing a meritorious second position.
With the top two places already decided, everything was in Fajardo’s hands. If he managed to finish ahead of Dabill, he would be runner-up by one point over Raga , but if he was behind, the opposite would happen and he would have to settle for third place overall.
Jeroni made too many mistakes on this second lap, adding up to five fiascos – in the first round he added two – and lost the small advantage he held against Dabill, to the point that He was irretrievable and finally lost in runner-up. For Dabill, coincidentally, fifth place on Saturday was his best result in the World Championship, improved on Sunday with this podium.
Bad day for Cabestany at the GP where the 2013 Sherco was presented (you can see it here), that despite improving in the second pass through the zones, He was far from the runner-up spot and had to settle for fourth place in the final in the championship.
Behind him, Fujinami, who could not repeat the good feat of Saturday , where he achieved the second position, and ended up sighing not to be overtaken by Challoner, with whom he tied.
No Team Orders
Beta has shown that it rewards, above all else, the sporting merit of its drivers. Dabill didn’t really have anything important at stake for the championship and Fajardo was just a stone’s throw away from second place. His lead over Challoner was more than enough to guarantee his sixth place and Fujinami mathematically unreachable.
The Italian brand could have forced Fajardo ahead of Dabill and secured the runner-up spot in the world championship, something that would symbolise the extraordinary performance they have had throughout the season.
Be that as it may, Dabill’s first podium in the absolute category has prevented Jeroni Fajardo from finishing runner-up. However, it was a good result in absolute terms for both of them, as Jeroni had achieved a maximum fourth position and in 2011 he was fifth. Dabill, on the other hand, equals his best record, achieved in 2010 with a sixth place finish.
Junior
In the Junior category, Francesc Moret won a sweaty runner-up in the world championship. Saturday’s victory put things in his face and he could face Sunday with more peace of mind and guarantees.
His great rival for the runner-up spot, Pol Tarrés, also finally lost third place to Dagnicourt, who scored Sunday’s victory and scratched valuable points from Pol.
The nephew of the seven-time world champion lost ground in Italy and last Saturday, where he could only add two fifth places.
The Galician Jorge Casales did not have everything in his favor this weekend either , signing despite everything a fourth and sixth place, added to four podiums throughout the championship. In spite of this, goal achieved for Jorge: fifth final position and first of the riders who did not travel to Japan and Australia.
Young people
In the junior category, with the reigning champion, Coquelin, participating in the Junior category, the victory went to Bradley Cox.
The first Spaniard was once again Oriol Noguera , sixth, who was not far from the records set by the podium riders. In the general standings, fifth position for Oriol.
Text: Trialworld / Photos: FIM – G2F Media
Toni Bou: “Fifty wins is a lot. I feel very happy to have achieved them and my wishes at this time are to continue enjoying this sport as much as I have done so far, feeling comfortable on this magnificent Cota 4RT and hoping that the injuries respect me. I can’t ask for more. This weekend was perfect, I competed without pressure and today I felt much better than yesterday. Six points on every lap is a good reference.”
Takahisa Fujinami: “Obviously I would have preferred a different result and even more so after finishing second yesterday. There was a mathematical possibility of finishing the Championship in the positions of honour and after many years I have been left out of them. Finishing fifth is not good, but given some partial results, it is not as negative as it might seem. I’m confident that next year I’ll get better.”
Adam Raga: “I think we deserved this result after a difficult season for us. This trial has shown that when the sections are complicated and in situations of maximum pressure we get a great result. I’m happy to finish the championship like this and it gives me the strength to keep fighting for next year.”
FINAL STANDINGS OF THE 2012 TRIAL WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP HERE
2012 JUNIOR TRIAL WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP FINAL STANDINGS HERE
2012 JUNIOR TRIAL WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP FINAL STANDINGS HERE
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