Bou closes with another win, as Raga steals second overall

By TMX Archives on 30th Jul 12

Motocross

Toni Bou signed of his season in style with yet another win yesterday at the closing round of the 2012 FIM Trial World Championship at Penrith.

With the title already sealed, it was the battle behind Bou that was the story of the weekend. Fourth in the standings heading into the final Grand Prix Adam Raga produced two solid results over the two days at the Armathwaite venue, including second place on day two to snatch the runners-up spot in the series away from Jeroni Fajardo by a single point in one of the most dramatic finales the championship has seen.

Ironically it was Fajardo's British teammate James Dabill who pushed him off the podium today, achieving his best ever result in front of his home fans. Whilst James was enjoying his best weekend ever, Albert Cabestany was enduring one of his worst as he followed up his sixth place on day one with an equally disappointing fifth spot on day two. As a result Cabestany dropped to fourth in the general standings after having arrived in the UK with a strong chance of challenging Fajardo for second.

Bou-pleasing tough sections were made harder at times by heavy downpours but the six times outdoor champion was in devastating form on the first lap and rode without penalty until the final two hazards. A five and dab in the closing two sections put Toni on six, eight marks clear of his nearest challenger, Raga. Bou and Raga matched each other mark for mark on the second lap to occupy the top two spots respectively, whilst Dabill held his nerve to record his maiden podium placing. Dabill's joy was at the expense of his teammate Fajardo, who lost second place in the championship fight as he was demoted to fourth on the day after his challenge faded during the closing fifteen sections.

Of the other Brits Jack Challoner looked in clear and confident mood, particularly on the Sunday where he was unlucky to lose out on a tie-break with Takahisa Fujinami for sixth. By contrast Michael Brown was below his usual form and let a series of mistakes ruin his weekend and ultimately meant he slipped down to ninth in the final series standings.

Benoit Dagnicourt won the Junior class today, taking the victory by eight marks from Pol Tarres and Maxime Warenghien. Warenghien secured the last rostrum spot after a tie-break with Britain's Jack Sheppard. Saturday's winner Francesc Moret could only manage fifth place on the Sunday but still held on to second spot in the final points table. Dagnicourt's win saw him move above Tarres in the general standings to earn third.

17-year-old Bradley Cox secured the runners-up spot in the final Youth standings with his second GP win of the weekend to end his first full season in the series in some style. Whilst Cox had to wait right until the last round of the championship to take his maiden victory, it was his sheer consistency with seven runners-up positions during his 2012 campaign that earned him second. The British rider was pushed all the way today by Italian rival Francesco Cabrini. Frenchman Quentin Carles de Caudemberg completed the final Youth rostrum of the year.

Final Championship Results

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