Toni Bou ­ Repsol Montesa HRC was narrowly beaten into second place at the Grand Prix of Ireland, which formed round two of the 2008 FIM SPEA Trial World championship. The wind swept coast of Northern Ireland proved a tough test for even the World¹s best riders, with Adam Raga ­ Gas Gas taking the victory by just two marks. For the second week running Takahisa Fujinami ­ Repsol Montesa HRC completed the podium, although slightly off the pace of the two front-runners. Bou now shares the championship lead with Raga, with the pair tied on thirty seven points each.

This year’s event followed a similar format to when the series last visited Bangor back in 2003 and 2004. On those two previous occasions Dougie Lampkin recorded wins for Montesa. This time around Lampkin ­ Beta could only manage sixth position, as Albert Cabestany ­ Sherco and Jeroni Fajardo ­ Beta took fourth and fifth positions respectively. The forecast bad weather did not disappoint, with high winds, rain, sleet and even the odd snow shower battering the scenic coastline that was home to many of the fifteen sections.

Bou did not make the best of starts with a bad five as early as section three on the first lap, when his rear wheel caught and broke the boundary tape after he had conquered the most difficult part of the hazard. However this was not the worst of his failures, as this was to be at the eighth section where an easy muddy incline stopped Toni in his tracks. Bou, aboard the Cota 4RT factory four stroke, was back at his best during the rest of the lap to remain in contention with an on form Raga.

Despite Bou producing the best lap of the trial during his second and final tour of the shoreline sections, this was not enough to keep Raga at bay. Toni recorded just one five during his closing performance to end  the day two marks behind his main championship rival. The riders will now enjoy a short break before the championship resumes in the USA later this month.

Bou -  2nd : “Adam rode a strong race today, and with the bad mistakes I made at section three and eight on the first lap I could not recover enough to take the victory. I am happy with the way I rode on the second lap, but not with the overall result. It has been a tough competition today, especially with the weather, but at least I am still at the top of the championship, although I am now sharing with Adam.”

Fujinami ­ 3rd : “I am not too sure why, but my first lap was not good at all. Maybe it was the cold weather and wind, but I never felt good on the bike at any point. Four fives really tells you the story. The second lap was much better, except for the five in the very last section. I am on the podium again, but I want to be challenging for the win.”

Laia Sanz ­ Repsol Montesa HRC did not enjoy the best of weekends, with below performances both in Saturday¹s European event and in the World Junior class on Sunday. “ It has been a terrible two days for me. I have struggle both with the slippery terrain, and the sever weather. Neither thing is an excuse, as all the riders have endured the same difficult conditions.”

RESULTS:

1. Adam Raga  (SPA-Gas Gas), 21 ;
2. Toni Bou (SPA-Montesa), 23 ;
3. Takahisa Fujinami (JPN-Montesa), 36 ;
4. Albert Cabestany (SPA-Sherco), 39 ;
5. Jeroni Fajardo (SPA-Beta), 41 ;
6. Dougie Lampkin (GBR-Beta), 47 (13x0) ;
7. Marc Freixa (SPA-Gas Gas), 47 (11x0) ;
8. James Dabill (GB-Montesa), 62 ;
9. Michael Brown (GB-Beta), 91 ;
10. Daniel Oliveras (SPA-Sherco), 105 ;
11. Jerome Bethune (FRA-Beta), 116 ;
12. Shaun Morris (GBR-Gas Gas), 117 ;
13. Daniele Maurino (ITA-Beta), 128 ;
14. Carsten Stranghoner (GER-Montesa), 129 ;
15. Henri Himmanen (FIN-Beta), 136

World Championship positions after 2 round;
1. Raga, 37 ; 2. Bou, 37 ; 3. Fujinami, 30 ; 4 Cabestany, 24 ; 5. Lampkin,
23 ; 6. Fajardo, 21 ;7. Freixa, 18 ; 8. Dabill, 16 ; 9. Brown, 14 ; 10. Oliveras, 12 ; 11.
Bethune, 10 ; 12. Maurino, 7 ;13. Morris, 6 ; 14. Pascuet, 3 ; 15. Stranghoner, 3

Next event: Round 3 at Sequatchie (USA) on 26/27 April