Raga rules on day two in Andorra!
Adam Raga (TRRS) was in control today and took his first win of the season as the 2021 Hertz FIM Trial World Championship passed the halfway mark on day two of the Andorran TrialGP
Conditions were even hotter than yesterday but Raga – world champion back in 2005 and 2006 – kept his cool to overhaul his fellow Spaniard Jaime Busto (Vertigo) who held a clear four-mark lead after the first lap.
Reigning champion Toni Bou (Repsol Honda) couldn’t replicate his winning form from yesterday although he still ended the event on the podium as the premier TrialGP class top-three distanced themselves from the rest of the field.
It was also all-change in Trial2 where Spain’s Aniol Gelabert (Beta) finally broke the British stranglehold on the class to take victory from his compatriot Arnau Farre (Scorpa) but Britannia continued to rule in the Trial125 category thanks to championship leader Jack Dance (GASGAS) who improved a position on his Saturday finish.
France’s Gael Chatagno (Electric Motion) kept his win-streak going with a clear-cut victory in Trial-E giving him a three-from-three record.
Conditions were hot, dry and dusty today in the Pyrenees with three distinct groups of sections based around the town of Sant Julià again divided between a steep hill littered with loose rocks, huge boulders set into near-vertical woodlands and a deep, treacherous riverbed.
Busto set the pace from the get-go and the 23-year-old was the only rider unpenalised following the opening two sections as he carved out a first-lap total of six that put him four ahead of Raga and six clear of Bou. He couldn’t, however, sustain his form and his lap-two total of 13 wasn’t enough to take a second career win after Raga dropped his second-lap score to just eight.
“I’m very happy because yesterday I deserved the victory,” said Raga. “Today I was very strong but so were some of the other riders and everything was very tight until the last moment.”
Bou brought it home with a total of 23 to suffer just his second defeat of the season but the Andorra resident still holds a commanding lead at the top of the table as he bids to claim his 15th title in a row.
Miquel Gelabert (GASGAS) made it a Spanish 1-2-3-4 but, along with fifth-placed Matteo Grattarola (Beta) from Italy, he was a long way off the podium pace.
In the Trial2 class Jack Peace (Sherco) strengthened his hold on the title as his fellow British rider Toby Martyn (TRRS) – who won yesterday to tie the championship race – slipped to sixth but after Billy Green (Scorpa) was disqualified the day belonged to Gelabert who dropped just eight on the opening lap and replicated this score second time around.
“It’s been very good and we were pushing for this result all day,” said Gelabert. “I’m really happy.”
Farre’s lap-two total of seven brought him into contention but he ended the day three marks adrift although still one clear of Peace who in turn was just a single point ahead of Norway’s Sondre Haga (Beta) with Italian Lorenzo Gandola (Beta) another two behind in fifth.
Trial125 has been dominated by British riders and there was no change today with Dance adding his second win of the season to extend his advantage. Part of a three-way tie for second on seven after the opening lap, a mark behind Saturday’s winner Harry Hemingway (Beta), Dance then completed his second tour for the loss of just six.
“It’s brilliant to end a double-header with a win,” said Dance. “I had some good rides today along with some unfortunate fives that let me down but I pulled it back on the second lap.”
Hemingway hung on for second on a score of 19 after winning a tie-break from fellow Brits Harry Turner (Scorpa) and Ben Dignan (Vertigo) with Czech rider David Fabien (Beta) four marks back in fifth.
Chatagno has bossed the Trial-E class since the opening round and he was in charge again today to make it three consecutive wins with his total of eight a full 14 ahead of Julien Perret and it was an all-French podium with Martin Pochez (Electric Motion) claiming his best finish of the year in third.
“It was a very good job by me and all the team because we managed to improve on some sections, especially in the river,” said Chatagno. “I had a good feeling on the bike all the day and was really focussed.”
The 2021 Hertz FIM Trial World Championship continues this coming weekend with the second French TrialGP of the season at Cahors.
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