Very much as expected Toni Bou - Repsol Montesa eventually cruised to his fourth win of the series at the final round in Palma, Majorca to wrap up the 2010 SPEA FIM Indoor Trial World Championship.
Bou has now won four FIM Indoor Trial World titles in a row, and all at the tender age of twenty-three years old.
Bou's route to taking the crown never looked in doubt, and only one mistake on the wood section in the final where he dropped five marks blotted an otherwise faultless performance. Albert Cabestany - Sherco who finished as vice champion for the second year in a row kept the pressure on Bou right to the end, but had to settle for second place on the night.
With the top two places determined, the battle for third spot in the championship went down to the final section of the series. An error by Jeroni Fajardo - Beta in the water-pool hazard cost him dearly as he remained in fifth position in the general standings after having been in touching distance of third place.
Despite yet another dismal performance on the night Adam Raga - Gas Gas kept his spot in the top three as he defeated James Dabill - Gas Gas by a single point after five hard fought rounds.
Although Takahisa Fujinami - Repsol Montesa showed moments of brilliance and kept the near capacity crowd entertained as he always does, he went out at the semi final stage along with Raga. This pairing joined Alexz Wigg - Beta and Loris Gubian - Gas Gas on the sidelines, with this young duo having failed to progress from the last chance process.
As has been the case for most of the season Bou once again delivered a showcase performance, with his skill and concentration allowing him to operate at a higher level than his rivals for much of the competition. In a similar way Cabestany was once again Toni's only real challenger on the night, and remains the only rider to have topped the Repsol teamster throughout the entire campaign.
The closing Grand Prix was a fitting climax to the series, with the maiden visit of the championship to Majorca proving to be a real success, and perhaps one of the best events of the 2010 tour. The technical sections made from local materials produced an exciting Trial that was packed with drama and action throughout the competition.
With the curtain having now dropped on the indoor season the attention now switches to the opening round of the 2010 SPEA FIM Trial World Championship in Baiona, Spain on 18th April.
Results
Trial
1: Bou 6 - Final
2: Cabestany 12 - Final
3: Fajardo 15 - Final
4: Dabill 20 - Final
5: Fujinami 7 - Semi Final
6: Raga 8 - Semi Final
7: Wigg 11 - Last Chance
8: Gubian 15 - Last Chance
Qualifying
1: Toni Bou (SPA-Montesa-HRC) 0
2: Albert Cabestany (SPA-Sherco) 1
3: Adam Raga (SPA-Gas Gas) 2
4: Takahisa Fujinami (JPN-Montesa-HRC) 5
5: James Dabill (GBR-Gas Gas) 5
6: Jeroni Fajardo (SPA-Beta) 10
7: Alexz Wigg (GBR-Beta) 11
8: Loris Gubian (FRA-Gas Gas) 15
Final FIM championship standings
1: Bou 95
2: Cabestany 77
3: Raga 45
4: Dabill 44
5: Fajardo 42
6: Fujinami 29
7: Gubian 15
8: Wigg 14
9: Lampkin 5
10: Gomez 4
11: Brown 3
12: Ferrer 1
