Bou's CRUISE
By TMX Archives on 18th Feb 11
TONI Bou took the factory Repsol Montesa to yet another win in the 2011 SPEA FIM X-Trial World Championship on Saturday night in Geneva, Switzerland the home of the FIM.The reigning Indoor and Outdoor champ remains undefeated in the 2011 series having won all four of the six rounds staged so far.
Bou is now on course to nail his fifth consecutive World Indoor title at the penultimate round which will take place on Saturday, March 12, in Madrid.
Sherco's Albert Cabestany kept-up his good form in the series with another runner-up berth, while Jeroni Fajardo got the Ossa on the podium for the very first time in what was a good night for the fledgling Gerona firm.
It was the first time in 11 years that an Indoor has been staged in Geneva and the organisers were rewarded with a virtual full-house 4,000 crowd who packed the uniquely laid-out hall which contained six sections (with two combined to make a seventh) plus a very fast dual-lane race.
The technical sections were the work of respected French Indoor organiser Bernard Estripeau and the event was contested by a maximum ten riders.
The regulars were joined by Frenchman Loris Gubian and Italian Matteo Grattarola.
The qualifiers was down to five hazards and this opening round would see the shock exit of Brits Michael Brown and James Dabill.
The two pals both cleaned the opener – the logs, but then compiled too many fives to survive the cut – along with wildcards Grattarola and Gubian.
World Junior champ Jack Challoner made it through to the six-man semi, guaranteeing himself the top British points scorer slot, pipping Gubian as both dropped 14 marks.
Jack had a cracking ride through the second hazard – the planks – following an opening clean.
And he also made it through section seven, a combination of three and five, which were concrete pipes and rocks.
Bou looked in a class of his own, cleaning the opening four sections before taking a max on the fifth and final qualifier, the water and rocks hazard.
Nine of the 10 contenders failed here, the exception being Ossa pilot Jeroni Fajardo.
FOR FULL REPORT AND PICTURES SEE T+MX FEBRUARY 18
WORLD X-TRIAL CHAMPIONSHIP
Rd 4 – Geneva Arena, Geneva, SWITZERLAND
FINAL (4 sects + Semi + Lane Races): 1 Toni Bou (E - Montesa) 10 + 0 + 0 = 10 marks, 2 Albert Cabestany (E - Sherco) 15 + 5 + 2 = 22, 3 Jeroni Fajardo (E - Ossa) 13 + 7 + 5 = 25, 4 Adam Raga (E - Gas Gas) 15 + 7 + 3 = 25.
SEMI-FINAL (4 sects + Lane Race): 1 Toni Bou (E - Montesa) 0, 2 Jeroni Fajardo (E - Ossa) 5, 3 Albert Cabestany (E - Sherco) 7, 4 Adam Raga (E - Gas Gas) 7.
ELIMINATED: 5 Takahisa Fujinami (J - Montesa) 8, 6 Jack CHALLONER (GB - Beta) 17.
QUALIFICATION (4 sects): 1 Toni Bou (E - Montesa) 5, 2 Adam Raga (E - Gas Gas) 9, 3 Jack CHALLONER (GB - Beta) 10, 4 Jeroni Fajardo (E - Ossa) 11, 5 Takahisa Fujinami (J - Montesa) 11, 6 Albert Cabestany (E - Sherco) 14.
ELIMINATED: 7 Loris Gubian (F - Gas Gas) 14, 8 James DABILL (GB - Beta) 15, 9 Matteo Grattarola (I - Gas Gas) 17, 10 Michael BROWN (GB - Gas Gas) 20.
SERIES STANDINGS: 1 Bou 80 points, 2 Cabestany 57, 3 Raga 48, 4 Fajardo 36, 5 Fujinami 26, 6 CHALLONER 16, 7 DABILL 11, 8 BROWN 11, 9 Gubian 5, 10 Grattarola 1, 11 Iolitta 1.
NEXT ROUND: March 12 – Palacio de Deportes, Madrid, SPAIN.