2007 Indoor World Trial Championship Round 2

St. Petersburg Ice Palace, St. Petersburg Russia - 20/1/2007 - Attendance: 7,000

One Mistake Costed for the Final

photoFujinami has arrived in St. Petersburg setting out a revenge for a disappointing result at the opening round in Granada. He rode steadily and solidly as planned, but a painful mistake at the section six costed him a chance for the Final Lap. Fuji finished fourth, a position better than last week, but he made a step forward from the Granada round.

Severity of most of the sections in St. Petersburg was medium to easy. Importantly, they were prepared only for the Russian event unlike one that being used in a various indoor events in Spain. It was an equal opportunity for everybody, especially non-Spanish riders. On the other hand, easiness of most of the sections meant that any mistake would be decisive.

Fuji, among the most of the riders, marked cleans at the first two sections. Fuji dropped a single point at the section three, but he was one of three riders to stay away from the maximum penalty points; dropping a single point. It was a very tough section, so he felt well knowing he was doing better than last week.

photoRaga and Cabestany led the lap as they finished first four sections. Both dropped another point at the section six, so they remained leading the field. The winner of the opening round, Bou was one of the four victims at the fourth section, and his appearance for the Final Lap was under threat. He then showed superb recovery with three consecutive cleans to hang on his hope.

The section six was another tough challenge with a big and very slippery stair case at the beginning. Having two penalty points already, Fuji tried to play safe not dropping too many points. He thought it would be OK to drop three points if not one in order to secure the seat for the Final Lap. But as he started his attack he missed the line a bit. The rear tire lost its grip and he lost the momentum. He footed to try to save it, but slippery surface refused him. He ended up falling to the floor to drop five points. It was the worse scenario he could think of, and he dropped down to fourth behind Bou with two points gap.

photoRaga and Cabestany both cleared the High-Jump, then following Double-Lane, Raga beat the fellow Spaniard to finish first in the qualification lap. Fuji went for the High-Jump, and although it looked certain that he cleared the bar, it fell down as he landed his bike. Some of the organizers thought it wasn't Fuji's fault, but at the end one more penalty point for Fuji. So the gap between Bou and Fuji became three points before the Double-Lane. It wasn't realistic that Bou would be careless to crash dropping five points at the DL, but it was the only and the last hope for Fuji for the Final Lap. As expected, Bou rode carefully dropping only one point by losing. Fuji finished fourth with eight points, two points behind Bou, thus Fuji's day was over before the Final again.

At the Final Lap, Bou repeated his performance as in Granada to capture second victory of the season. It was another impressive ride from the new Montesa rider as he was eleven points clear of second placed Cabestany. Raga on the other hand spent a heartbreaking lap in Russia. His exhaust pipe broke loose at the third section, then eventually he had to ride without the pipe later at DL. It wasn't only the performance of the bike that affected, but the problem ruined Raga's concentration too. He finished third, massive thirteen points behind the series leader. In Granada, it was Cabestany, then in Russia it was Raga, who became the victim of the new regulation - no more spare bike. It is interesting that the rule change seems to be playing a big part of the championship so far this year.

Quote from Fujigas:

I tried to go for a safe ride at the section six, so I was happy if I had three point error. I ended up with a huge mistake with not one, not three, but five points penalty! That was it. It crushed my hope for the Final Lap. I am disappointed with the game in Russia, because again, I tried a safe ride, riding differently, and it didn't turn out the way as I planned.

Indoor Trial WorldChampionship 2007
Round 2 St. Petersburg Ice Palace, Russia
Final Lap
1 Toni Bou Repsol Montesa HRC 6
2 Albert Cabestany Sherco 17
3 Adam Raga Gas Gas 19
Qualificarion Lap
1 Adam Raga Gas Gas 2
2 Albert Cabestany Sherco 3
3 Toni Bou Repsol Montesa HRC 6
4 Takahisa Fujinami Repsol Montesa HRC 8
5 Dougie Lampkin Repsol Montesa HRC 12
6 Jeroni Fajardo Beta 13
7 Blazusiak Tadeusz Beta 19
PointStandings
1 Toni Bou 20
2 Adam Raga 14
3 Albert Cabestany 11
4 Jeroni Fajardo 9
5 Takahisa Fujinami 9
6 Dougie Lampkin 9
7 Blazusiak Tadeusz 4