Raga wins first day in USA
By TMX Archives on 20th May 06
USA Round 3The 2006 World outdoor trials championship returned today following the spring break with the first of two days of competition in Tennessee, USA.
Having had to settle for second place in both of the opening two rounds in Spain and Portugal, reigning indoor and outdoor champion, Adam Raga – Gas Gas finally tasted victory with his first win of the season over second place Dougie Lampkin – Repsol Montesa HRC and Antonio Bou – Beta in third place.
Raga dominated the event from the very start. A clean on the opening section where several other riders dropped fives gave him an early advantage and just two single dabs over the next seven sections saw him pull away from the pack.
A five in section nine was ineffectual after the majority of riders also failed. With very long and slippery sections, time was tight for the riders and a rushed attempt at the final section in order to get in on time saw Raga take his second five of the lap. This allowed Bou, who dropped just three in the same section to close the gap between himself and Raga to just a single mark going into lap two.
The second lap saw Raga, considerably reduce his score of the first lap, dropping just six marks for the lap. Bou, however couldn't maintain the pressure and dropped fifteen. Dougie Lampkin, who was in third place at the end of the first lap, turned in an impressive second lap score of seven marks to take second place on the podium.
Raga now leads the Championship by six points over second place Bou with Lampkin just one point further behind.
In the Junior championship, Michael Brown – Beta ended his run of wins being beaten into third place by Daniel Oliveras – Gas Gas and Daniel Gibert – Montesa. Brown, however still maintains a three point lead over Oliveras in the overall Championship.
Over in the Youth championship, Alexz Wigg – Gas Gas took his first ever win with Sam Haslam – Gas Gas in second place and Alfredo Gomez – Gas Gas in third. Wigg now leads the Championship by six points over Loris Gubian – Sherco who had a bad day, finishing down in eighth position.
2006 Manufacturers Championship Current Standings:
1: Gas Gas 89
2: Montesa 88
3: Beta 70
4: Scorpa 36
5: Sherco 34