Toni Bou ‰ÛÒ Repsol Montesa HRC on his factory Cota 4RT increased his advantage at the head of the
2009 SPEA FIM Trial World Championship thanks to two hard fought victories at the Grand Prix of Great Britain.
Bou now has a nine-point lead over arch rival Adam Raga ‰ÛÒ Gas Gas who finished as runner up on both days.
The third round of the current series was hosted a disused sandstone quarry close to the border city of Carlisle. Sitting high on the hill over looking the rolling valley below, the ultra compact course comprised entirely of man made sections that proved a good test for the World‰Ûªs best riders. Heavy rain was forecast throughout the weekend, but in reality this only materialised into a few light showers during Saturday‰Ûªs competition.
Typically Bou and Raga traded blows as they moved through the early and relatively easy hazards, with Toni holding a single mark lead over Adam until section eight. Here the reigning champion made a really bad error that instantly cost him five marks and put Raga in the driving seat.
However Bou was soon to rectify his mistake with the best ride of the trial in section ten. His clean ride up and over the steep jumble of rocks on his factory four stroke brought a roar from the crowd, as he became the only rider to reach the end cards on a hazard that was never conquered again on the day.
From here on in Bou began to stretch his advantage over Raga, to take his first day victory by a comfortable nine marks come the finish and after his early scare. Veteran campaigner Dougie Lampkin ‰ÛÒ Beta rounded out the podium in front of his younger compatriot James Dabill ‰ÛÒ Gas Gas, who took fourth. By the trial was coming to an end Fujinami was already undergoing an examination in the local hospital on his suspected broken ribs following his massive crash on section thirteen on the first lap.
Day two dawned with good news for Bou's team-mate Takahisa, as the doctors confirmed he had not broken ant bones in an accident and would be allowed to compete in Sunday‰Ûªs trial. Over night changes to five sections meant the riders faced a slightly more difficult challenge for the second day. Bou began strongly again with cleans in the opening two sections, but needed a dab in the third hazard as his bike failed to rev out cleanly. His mechanics attended immediately to trace and rectify the fault and believed they had done so only to see Toni fail dramatically in the very next section as the engine misfired just at the wrong moment.
Further investigations then found a small stone had blocked one of the fuel pipes, and with this now removed Bou was faced with the task of clawing back marks on Raga who had been gifted the early lead. Again it was at section ten where Toni put his assault back on track with yet another stunning clean, to close the lap level on marks with Adam despite his problems. Toni looked back in control as he edged in front of the Gas Gas rider, but another poor error, this time in section six saw him add five marks to his tally.
Bou for the third time in the weekend had to rely on a wonder ride in section ten on his final visit to move back in front of Raga. This one epic ride was enough to give him his second victory, as he finished three marks ahead of Raga to take maximum points from his trip to Great Britain. Fujinami produced a super human effort on both laps to claim fourth spot, which had seemed an-impossibility at the start of the day.
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