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FIM Individual World Trials Championship Round 6: Spanish GP Albert Cabestany (31 rode well and eamed his first GP victory of the year before his countrymen at the Spanish GP. The Beta rider tied Doug Lampkin (11 on day two but incurred fewer time penalty points, thus securing the win. •• Time's the decider at the Spanish \Norld Trial. the latter on Sunday. What sounded sad and unusual in the Spanish Grand Prix was the lack of public, due to the choice of a venue so wonderful yet so distant from the normal throng of trials fans. Not only that, but a very long loop (about 12.5 miles) with sections not well grouped did not let the spectators easily follow the competition. DAY ONE The sections were very tough, appreciated only by the top riders. Three pilots rode one step above all the others and gained a consistent advan- STORY AND PHOTOS By and other high rocks. The Japanese had a successful run, finishing it with a three, and his brave try enticed Lampkin to go for it, too. It was same result for the champion. Then, calculating the time left, both Fujinami and Lampkin decided to miss section 13 (tested by Cabestany and Kuroyama in second loop), and Lampkin arrived at the last two indoor sections (14 and 15) ahead of Fujinami. He cleaned both. Fujinami lost one dab in the first one, so the two riders were tied on scorecards, but Fujinami had two cleans more and won! Kuroyama had a good second loop (19 points, MARIO CANDELLONE BENASQUE, SPAIN, JUNE 28·29 ougie Lampkin is chasing a possible seventh World Trials title, and if he can clinch it, he will certainly remember this one as the most difficult to win. Never in the history of the World Championship has there been a provisionary leader with only two wins after six rounds. In a weekend spent in wonderful Pyrenees scenery, Lampkin extended his advantage over teammate and rival Takahisa Fujinami to five precarious points. The Japanese rider beat him on Saturday, just by two cleans, but failed miserably in the competition on Sunday, finishing in fifth place. It went to show that when the going gets tough, the coolest customer is still the reigning World Champion. Indeed, on Sunday he was beaten by a reborn Albert Cabestany, but only after the time rule was invoked after the pair was knotted on the scorecards. Still, Lampkin gathered two runner-up positions and stretched his lead in the overall standings. The unexpected performance of Cabestany came after a dark period D 38 .,JULY 16, 2003· cue I tage at the end of the first loop. Fujinami, Lampkin and Raga scored 16 points each, but only Fujinami arrived on time. Lampkin got one point for his delay, and Raga two for his. Freixa, in fourth, made 28 mistakes plus four points for his delay, practically doubling the score of the first three. These scores were still low, considering that all the riders decided to miss section 12 and section 13, which were too tough to be faced within the time limit. On the second loop Raga took the lead, cleaning the first six sections, but then he fived sections seven and 10, losing any chance to win. Fujinami and Lampkin proceeded, very close to checking the mistakes of each other (just few dabs). This time, though, Fujinami decided to try the impossible section 12, which was in the trees and presented a big, slippery rock followed by narrow bends where the 2001 Indoor World Champion and number three in the world struggled through some very poor showings that were no doubt somewhat influenced by his suspension earlier this year. But as he declared BRIEFLY••• Benasque is a ski resort town. situated in the Pyrenees chain in the Aragona region. It is a 4 'I,.hour drive from Barcelona. The venue is very nice. at 1500 meters of altitude. In winter it is attended by all the skiers. and in the summer season there are many pedestrian mountain lovers but not many trials in the press conference, he realized lovers. An estimated 3000 people were on hand to watch the event. Admission was free. that continuing on in lethargy would The dangerous speeds required on the road sections took their toll. Fumitaka Nozaki fell down on the road and needed to be treated for cuts on his right arm by the doctor of the course. He continued on in the competition, but the pain hampered his efforts. not do him any good, so he made a conscious decision to put in a maximum effort at all the remaining events without thinking about the offense suffered. Adam Raga and Marc Freixa compieted the list of pilots who climbed ... the podium, the former on Saturday, n ... _ s In the Junior class. Britain's Shaun Morris won on both days. regaining the top place in the overall standings. Poland's Tadeusz Blazusiak. who won in Andorra, was only third in Benasque, finishing behind Morris and France's Jerone Bethune. Graham Jarvis was not up to snuff in Benasque. Feeling weak. possibly due to a lack of sug· ars in his blood, he rode only one lap. well under his skill level. He scored 57 points and was in 17th position; thus he decided to withdraw.