GENOA
SET TO STAGE FIRST EVER SPEA FIM X-TRIAL
Italy will host round one of
the eagerly awaited 2011 SPEA FIM X-Trial World Championship,
on Saturday, 27th November 2010, previously known as the SPEA
FIM Indoor Trial World Championship. In addition to its new
name and logo the rejuvenated series will boast a fresh format
when it kicks off alongside the FIM Indoor Enduro World
Championship in the historic and lively city of Genoa next
weekend.
SPEA FIM X-Trial World
Championship has been devised to reflect the youthful nature
of the majority of the competitors in the series, the extreme
energy of the sport and profile of the thousands of fans
around the World that follow this discipline - either live at
the actual event or via the live Eurosport coverage.
The bustling northwest
Italian metropolis stages the first of six X-Trial rounds,
with the remaining five spread out between January and March
2011. Following its inaugural stop in Genoa the championship,
which has been dominated by Spain’s Toni Bou - Repsol
Montesa in recent years, will pause during the month of
December before recommencing in Marseille, France in January
for round two.
The series will then travel
to Bou’s stomping ground of Barcelona in Spain at the
beginning of February. From there it will stop off in Geneva,
Switzerland a week later before returning to Spain, this time
to the capital Madrid, in early March. The final round will be
played out seven days later in Milan, as Italy bookends the
prestigious continent-hopping competition.
Eight fixed championship
riders will go head-to-head at each round, including
four-times SPEA FIM Indoor Trial World Champion Bou. The title
favourite will be joined by familiar faces Albert Cabestany -
Sherco, Adam Raga - Gas Gas, Takahisa Fujinami - Repsol
Montesa, Jeroni Fajardo - Beta and James Dabill - Gas Gas. In
addition to Michael Brown - Sherco, who makes a welcome return
to the series, and young debutant Jack Challoner - Beta. Two
wildcard riders, invited by each event’s organiser, will
also take part.
The World’s best will face
a revised format this season that begins with XQ
Qualification. This, the first hurdle, will feature a minimum
of four sections and filter the ten starters down to six, as
four are eliminated. Those that survive will progress to the
XT Semi Final, which will encompass a double lane battle plus
an additional four hazards, in which riders are entitled one
minute per section.
Two riders will be
dispatched following the XT Semi Final, leaving the best four
protagonists on each night to fight it out for top honours in
the XT Final. Here, the four riders will compete against each
other in a double lane format, each passing the race three
times before embarking on three challenging sections to decide
the outcome.
While giving the riders no
time to relax this new three-part schedule is sure to create a
thrilling spectacle for SPEA FIM X-Trial World Championship
fans, who are guaranteed tense and climatic action at each of
the six atmospheric venues. You do not have to be at each
round to enjoy the series this year, though, as both the XT
Semi Final and XT Final will be broadcast live on Eurosport,
giving fans at home an equally nerve-wrecking yet exhilarating
experience of first class Trial.
The FIM are delighted to
announce a three year extension to the Eurosport agreement,
that will continue to see the sport broadcast to millions of
homes around the globe over the coming years. Commenting on
this extended contract Olivier Godallier, FIM Marketing and
Communications Director said. "We believe that the
introduction of FIM X-Trial marks an important new era for
this discipline and one that will help take the sport forward
to the next level. X-Trial is the perfect sport for
television, so we are pleased that we have been able to reach
a new and increased partnership with Eurosport that will take
this sport to new audiences across all continents."
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2011 SPEA FIM X-TRIAL
WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
> Round 1
Genoa – Italy
27 November - Saturday
Round
2
Marseille – France
22 January - Saturday
Round
3
Barcelona – Spain
06 February - Sunday
Round 4
Geneva - Switzerland
12 February - Saturday
Round
5
Madrid – Spain
12 March - Saturday
Round
6
Milan – Italy
19 March - Saturday
2010 FIM championship
final 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
For more infomation
please visit
WWW.FIM-LIVE.COM
FIWTCPR11-RND1FEA
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