Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/164511
P22 IN THE WIND BOU CROWNED – AGAIN! R epsol Montesa HRC's Toni Bou endured a tough close to the 2013 Trial World Championship at the French Grand Prix held at Isola 2000, but the Spaniard recorded a brilliant second-day win on board his factory Cota 4T to clinch his seventh successive outdoor title. Bou's latest title sees him in a tie with both Jordi Tarres and Dougie Lampkin, both of whom won seven outdoor titles during their illustrious careers. Gas Gas' Adam Raga pushed Bou all the way, including winning day one in the Isola 2000, but he fell short on the final attack as he again finished runner-up to Bou in the title chase. Beta's Jeroni Fajardo jumped to third in the final standings with his two-four showing in France. Sherco's Albert Cabestany ended the year fourth with Bou's teammate Takahisa Fujinami slipping from third to fifth in the final round. "This feels almost as good as my first title, as it has been such a tough championship and an incredibly difficult weekend for me," Bou said. "Yesterday I was not confident on the bike as I have not ridden so much since the last round due to the injury I sustained at the British GP. Adam [Raga] and Jeroni G erman, Bernhard Gobmeier is the director of Ducati Corse. That means he's in charge of all things racing. We caught up with him briefly at the German round of the World Superbike Championship on Sunday at the Nurburgring. Will there be a factory Ducati Alstare team in World Superbike 2014? There will be a next year for this team, yes. We are going to continue with them for next year. We will introduce some changes to the machine for next season and we have already introduced some changes for this year - but we will also do some more steps next year. Will your riders be the same as this year? Or will you change one rider, or both? We will talk with Carlos' [Checa] manager at the Nürburgring. Of course, Carlos is part of the family and a really good guy, so we will talk. We will also talk to [Ayrton] Badovini. Everybody keeps talking about Nicky Hayden coming over from MotoGP. It would be desirable to have him here also because he has been with Ducati for five years. He is a very good guy, a very good rider and in terms of PR and the way he comes across to the public. It's a big decision, of course, for him to leave the one paddock to go to the other. It will be his decision." Is half the problem with the Panigale that the four-cylinder bikes have all made great progress recently? The four cylinders have also changed for sure. The Panigale PHOTOGRAPHY BY GOLD & GOOSE FACE-TO-FACE: BERNHARD GOBMEIER – DUCATI CORSE DIRECTOR has also improved this year already and we are going to have the next step very soon, where, let's say, we will try to get back the old qualities like Carlos [Checa] has described. But is it enough to be in the top three all the time like in 2011? I doubt it because, in