11/03/12, Palma de Mallorca - Cabestany comes close to stopping Bou !

Toni Bou - Repsol Montesa recorded his fifth straight victory of the 2012 FIM X-Trial World Championship in Palma, Majorca but only after a titanic battle with Albert Cabestany – Sherco. In what proved to be a low scoring event Bou was pushed to the very last section by Cabestany, with just two marks separating the Spanish duo come the finish. For only the second time this season Takahisa Fujinami - Repsol Montesa prevented it being an all Spanish podium, as the veteran campaigner collected the third place trophy.

Adam Raga - Gas Gas did not enjoy the best of evenings and failed to register in the top three, losing out on the last rostrum place to Fujinami by a single mark. Tonight’s result sees Bou further extend his lead at the head of the general standings, and Cabestany take over second spot in the series from Raga, as these arch rivals once again fight it out to follow Bou home in the final rankings.

Whilst the qualification process of five sections to be completed in eight minutes was a familiar format, the initial result broke new ground with six of the riders all on zero marks, which triggered a six-way tie-break. Michael Brown - Gas Gas and Alfredo Gomez - Montesa had already ridden themselves out of the main event as they dropped eleven and fifteen marks respectively to occupy seventh and eighth spots on the night. The remaining six riders returned to the log section, this time for a run against the clock.

Loris Gubian - Gas Gas and Fujinami both failed at their first attempts in the tie-break and were forced into a second tie-decider that would go the way of the ever popular Japanese rider, meaning Loris was eventually the lowest placed qualifier. Jeroni Fajardo - Beta was the next best with a time of twenty-two seconds dead on the log section, a time which Cabestany beat by a clear two seconds. Raga looked to have put Bou under real pressure with a time just under sixteen seconds, but Toni was at his best as he crossed the line in a fraction over ten seconds to head the qualification order.

Bou immediately opened up an advantage in the semi-final as he was the only clean on the first section. His execution of the undercut double step was simply exquisite and was in contrast to Cabestany’s calculated dab that marked the start of his sterling challenge. Raga instantly ruled himself out of contention by taking maximum marks in the same hazard, along with Gubian and Fajardo. These latter two riders would fail to make it into the final and finished fifth and sixth respectively.

news and photos by Jake Miller (FIM Press)
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Cabestany ad un passo dal fermare Bou!

Toni Bou - Repsol Montesa fa pokerissimo con la quinta vittoria su 5 prove del mondiale FIM XTrial, disputato nel Palazzo dello Sport di Palma di Mallorca. Non e' stato facile liberarsi di un Albert Cebestany - Sherco in forma strepitosa che lo ha tallonato da vicino fino all'ultima zona, e per soli 2 punti non e' riuscito nel rovinargli la festa.

Terzo Takahisa Fujinami - Repsol Montesa che costringe Adam Raga -Gas Gas al quarto posto e dunque in campionato ad essere scavalcato da Cabestany per la lotta al secondo posto.

Ed ora cari appassionati non ci resta che vedere Toni incamerare il sesto tilolo proprio sul suolo italico, sabato sera prossimo a Milano!