ROUND 2/MAY 25-26, 2013
TRIALS TRAINING CENTER/SEQUATCHIE, TENNESSEE
WORLD TRIALS
P36
FIM TRIAL WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
new rules the FIM implemented
for this year, which require the riders to maintain forward motion or
receive a five for a stop, some of
the competition may have closed
the gap on the Repsol Montesa
rider. Both the organizers and
the riders are adapting to the
new restrictions, but Raga, the
2005-'06 Champion, seems to
have mastered the new style better than most and demonstrated
that fact on Saturday during the
Tennessee round when he took
an eight-point victory over Bou in
what was a relatively low scoring
event. And he followed that up
with a round-two win on Sunday.
Great weather greeted the
best trials riders in the world, as
they took to the course, which
featured slippery rocky creeks
and steep dirt climbs. Spanish
Beta rider Jeroni Fajardo took the
early lead when things got underway Saturday, dropping just five
points across the opening lap of
12 sections, plus one point time
penalty, while Bou and Raga
each dropped seven.
Raga picked up the pace on
lap two, going clean for the entire
Defending champ Toni Bou is still
adapting to the new no-stop rules.
circuit, while Bou dropped three
marks.
Raga sealed the deal on the final lap, needing just a single prod
to get through the lap, compared
to six for Bou.
When the cards were counted,
Raga claimed his first win of the
year with a loss of nine points,
compared to 17 points for Bou, to
claim Saturday's win.
Fajardo held on for third, with
19 points, while Spanish Sherco
