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RAGA RULES ON DAY ONE

Just seven days after failing to make it on to the podium at the opening round of the 2011 SPEA FIM Trial World Championship, Adam Raga - Gas Gas bounced back brilliantly with an important win on day one of the French Grand Prix. In hot and dusty conditions Jeroni Fajardo - Ossa also went some way to making amends for his poor form in Germany, as he took the runners up spot today ahead of an off colour Toni Bou - Repsol Montesa, who could only make third spot this time out.

Whilst only five marks separated the top three riders, a tense first day of competition was experienced at the purpose made Trial Park just outside Breal-sous-Montfort. The leading trio had a clear advantage over the other challengers. Like so many riders Albert Cabestany - Sherco suffered several fives for just touching markers, as the new rule really came into play after being of no significance in Gefrees. Cabestany eventually ended up in fourth position and three marks ahead of Takahisa Fujinami - Repsol Montesa, who completed the top five.

British riders James Dabill - Beta and Michael Brown - Gas Gas finished sixth and seventh respectively, leaving French hopeful Loris Gubian - Gas Gas down in eighth spot after he had threatened to do much better during the early stages in front of his home fans. Veteran campaigner Dougie Lampkin - Gas Gas was a noticeable absentee, as the ex multi FIM Trial World champion missed his first GP since 1993, due to his ongoing ankle injury sustained at the recent Scottish Six Days Trial.

Bou and Raga were locked on fifteen marks apiece at the end of the first lap of fifteen dry sections, that were a mixture of natural hazards and man-made affairs. Both riders dropped two fives on their opening tour, Toni recording his second failure in section eleven. The reigning champion was also to start his closing lap with yet another mistake as he added five more marks to his total in only the second hazard, which he had cleaned earlier in the day.

Knowing that he was in with a chance of the victory Raga looked strong during his second lap, until he lost a soft five in the seventh hazard. Thankfully the twenty-nine year old held his nerve to finish two marks in front of Fajardo, as Bou suffered one more disaster in section nine to demote himself to the lower step of the podium. Last week's runner up Cabestany was never really in the running and can perhaps count himself fortunate to have taken fourth spot in the end.

In the Junior class the rostrum was an all Spanish affair, with Alfredo Gomez - Montesa making it two wins from two starts, to take control of the general standings even at this early stage in the season. Gomez's margin of victory today was seven marks, as Pol Tarres - Gas Gas recorded his best result since moving up to this class, by taking the runners up spot ahead of the more experienced Francesc Moret - Montesa.

Jack Sheppard - Beta matched Gomez's 100% feat, as he too took his second win of the series in the Youth category. Sheppard's single mark on the last lap was enough to seal the win from Cedric Tempier - Sherco who made the most of his home advantage. Steven Coquelin - Gas Gas made it two French riders on the podium, as he took third spot just one mark behind his compatriot Tempier.

Victory in France for Sheppard

Suffolk born Jack Sheppard has further strengthened his 2011 SPEA FIM Youth Trial Championship campaign, by taking a commanding win during the first day of the French GP. Held only one week after the opening round of the series, the World tour arrived in the small rural town of Breal-sous-Montfort, France for the first of two, two-day events featured on the 2011 calendar. Despite suffering from a longstanding wrist injury the Jitsie Beta factory rider remained focussed, going on to complete his second lap for just a single mark.

"Today has been a great day for me. I started a little slowly and lost some slack marks early on, which was not what I wanted. I fived section seven and I knew I had to concentrate if I was going to fight for the win. There was plenty of grip on most of the sections so it was easy to get carried away and make a silly mistake," commented Sheppard.

Finishing his first lap on nine marks and lying second in the results listings Jack refocused, proving his maturity the young Beta teamster kept a cool head under pressure to finish his second lap on only a single dab – taking victory in the process.

"The observer at section twelve gave me a single mark which I think was unfair and it would have been nice to have done a clean lap, however it is done now so never mind. Similar to Germany it took me a few sections to get into a comfortable rhythm, but once I was there I thought the sections were actually a little easy," continued the seventeen year-old.

Situated within a dedicated Trial Park, two laps of fifteen sections made for a tough days competition where large steps were the order of the day. On board his factory Beta machine Sheppard navigated the daunting hazards with composure and skill, further securing his place at the top of the championship standings in the process. After a recent x-ray Jack has been advised his wrist injury is not healing correctly and will require surgery after this event. With the second day of the French GP still ahead of him Jack must now put all his efforts into fighting for another maximum points haul.

"My wrist was pretty sore last night and I was worried it was going to be a real problem today, especially as most of the landings are quite severe. In truth it has been okay and I will feel better once I know what is wrong with it one hundred percent, I just hope it holds up again tomorrow. Although today's sections have been big to look at ,they were not too difficult to ride, in fact I would not mind if the organisers toughen it up a little for tomorrow," concluded Sheppard.

BOU BACK ON TOP ON DAY TWO

Normal service was resumed when Toni Bou - Repsol Montesa claimed an emphatic win on the second day of the French Grand Prix, held at Breal-sous-Montfort close to the city of Rennes. Bou went totally clean on his final lap to eventually run out the clear victor ahead of a rejuvenated Albert Cabestany - Sherco. Day one winner Adam Raga - Gas Gas was third on this occasion, as round two of the 2011 SPEA FIM Trial World Championship came to close after two days of hot competition.

Saturday's runner up Jeroni Fajardo - Ossa lost valuable time as he was forced to return to the paddock to make running repairs to his bike on the first lap, and was finally beaten to fourth place by Takahisa Fujinami - Repsol Montesa who placed one position better than yesterday. French rider Loris Gubian - Gas Gas gave the huge home crowd something to cheer about as he took a well deserved sixth spot on day two after riding well throughout the weekend.

Britain's twenty-year old Jack Challoner - Beta recorded his best ever result since moving up to the World Pro class, for the start of this season after winning the 2010 Junior title. Jack's seventh place put him ahead of his compatriots Michael Brown - Gas Gas and James Dabill - Beta who finished in eighth and ninth spots respectively. Matteo Grattarola - Gas Gas from Italy completed the top ten.

Today's Trial was very much a tale of two halves. At the end of the first lap Cabestany led Bou by a single mark after they both fived section eleven, the man-made waterfall. All the World Pro riders, except Alexz Wigg - Sherco failed this hazard on their initial visit. Behind the leading pair there was a tie for third, with both Fajardo and Fujinami having dropped seventeen marks apiece, making it a four way fight for the win, with Raga slightly off the pace on twenty marks at this stage.

The second lap was all about Bou, as the reigning and four times SPEA FIM Trial World Champion showed his true class by cleaning all fifteen sections to take the win by eleven marks from Cabestany. Raga mounted a fightback on lap two, however this was not enough to take the runners up spot, although it was sufficient for him to demote Fujinami to fourth. Fajardo's closing tour was an absolute disaster, and he can perhaps count himself lucky to have hung on to a top five placing.

For the second day in a row the Junior class podium was a Spanish lock out, with Alfredo Gomez - Montesa taking his third straight win of the season to open up an eleven point lead at the top of the general standings even at this early stage. This time around Gomez was joined by Francesc Moret - Montesa, who holds second in the series, and Pere Borrellas - Gas Gas who sits in fourth place in the table just behind Pol Tarres - Gas Gas, who finished off the rostrum today.

Matching Bou's closing performance, Jack Sheppard - Beta also went clean on his last lap to maintain his 100% record in the Youth category. Despite riding with a wrist injury, Sheppard was a clear winner today, finishing nine marks in front of Giacomo Saleri - Beta. France's Steven Coquelin - Gas Gas completed the podium, as Jack's main rival Cedric Tempier - Sherco was demoted to fourth spot on the second day of his home GP. Sheppard will head to the next round in Spain, next month, with a thirteen point margin over Tempier.

Sheppard maintains 100% record

Jitsie Beta factory rider Jack Sheppard has claimed his second victory of the weekend by winning the final day of the French GP. After taking a commanding victory yesterday, the seventeen-year old has once again dominated his category, further strengthening his grip on the 2011 SPEA FIM Youth Trial Championship. With few changes made to the dry and dusty course overnight, Sheppard finished a huge nine marks ahead of his nearest rival after riding his second lap totally clean.

"I am really pleased with how today went, I've had a great weekend and this has certainly put the icing on the cake. Having ridden the course yesterday I had a fair understanding of the sections and the organisers made very few changes for the second day, so I knew I had a good chance of taking the win," said the Beta teamster.

With dry and extremely dusty conditions gracing the purpose built Trial Park for the second day running, grip was plentiful in most areas. Starting his first lap with commitment and confidence, Sheppard cleaned the first four sections with ease. A slack five on section five failed to dampen his spirits as the plucky Brit went on to clean a further nine sections, eventually finishing his first lap on six marks. Leading his class at the half way point Sheppard was determined to stretch his advantage and, similarly to overall championship class victor Toni Bou, rode his second tour clean, taking a well-deserved win in the process.

"Unlike yesterday I started pretty strongly. I was feeling good and cleaned the first few sections reasonably easily. I had a silly five at section five, which was annoying, but I tried not to let it get to me. The organisers had toughened up section six from yesterday and it had become quite difficult – I dropped another mark there and I was pleased with that to be honest. Yesterday I dropped just one mark on my second lap and today I managed to clean it, which was brilliant," continued the teenager from Suffolk.

Having claimed three wins from as many starts Jack has ridden a perfect championship so far, despite suffering from a long-standing wrist injury, which will require surgery in the coming days. With class rival Cedric Tempier only managing fourth today, Sheppard now sits thirteen points clear at the top of the championship standings. With a four-week break before the series arrives in Pobladura, Spain for the third round of the campaign, Sheppard holds both a solid points and psychological advantage over his competition.

"I could not have asked for a better start to the season. My wrist has been sore again today and I'm sure it will cause me a problem tonight, but I knew there was a job to do. I wanted to be in a position where I had a little cushion between the rest of the field and myself and that is exactly what I have. I now need to make sure I maintain these results and continue to push myself for the rest of the season," concluded the 2010 FIM Youth Trial vice World Champion and current series leader.

Dougie Lampkin

Ex multi FIM Trial World Champion Dougie Lampkin - Gas Gas failed to start today's French GP due to the ankle injury that he sustained during the recent Scottish Six Days Trial. Although Lampkin bravely rode at the opening round in Germany last Sunday, the sheer severity of the French sections meant that Dougie decided not to ride in order to prevent further damage to his already stretched ligaments.

This was the first time that Lampkin has failed to start a Grand Prix since he made his FIM Trial World Championship debut in Luxembourg back in 1993. Although the thirty-five year old veteran campaigner took part in official practice yesterday, he opted not to ride today after having inspected the hazards, which were both big and demanding.

Unable to compete himself, Dougie switched to his role as Gas Gas trial team manager and accompanied factory rider Adam Raga throughout the trial. His presence and experience in this position would appear to have had a positive effect on Raga, with the Spanish title challenger claiming his first victory of the new season.

Dougie spoke about his disappointment at failing to start today's event. "I am obviously gutted at missing today's trial, as this is the first time in nineteen seasons that I have had to pull out of a World trial for any kind of reason. I rode for the first time yesterday since Germany and it was obvious that my ankle was still very weak despite having had further treatment this week."

"In certain circumstances and conditions I could have ridden round to just pick up some points. However after looking at the size and severity of the sections yesterday afternoon, it would have been crazy for me to have ridden today as there was a high risk that I would have done further damage to my ankle and maybe even injured myself more."

"With a break in the schedule now, I hope that I will have enough time for the ankle to recover properly so that I can be fully fit for the next event and the rest of the season. Finally I would like to congratulate Adam on his win, and I hope he can do the same tomorrow." ended Dougie.