Colomer’s Electric Charge
The new dawn of the electric trials era continues to come alive, this time in France in the FIM TrialE Cup at Laudes. With the French Electric Motion brand being the only company to have a production range of adult machines it was no surprise that they do
The new TrialE class is the future, that’s a fact. It was a brave move by the new promoter of the Trial World Championship Sport7 to include the class in France but it proved a huge hit with the public in both the qualifying and the event itself the following day. The big name in the event was 42-year-old Marc Colomer on the new Gas Gas that had not been seen in competition before. The1996 FIM Trial World Champion and three times FIM Indoor Trial World Champion had a big shock though in the qualifying as, despite recording the fastest time, he missed a gate at the start of the qualifying section and almost crashed out, which cost him a maximum and put him at the front of the entry for the competition the following day. The qualifying glory would go to Italy’s Matteo Bosis who would record history in front of fellow Electric Motion riders from France Bastien Hieyte and Jerome Delair with his run through the hazard. The course they rode over was the same as the Trial125 class. The crowd that had gathered to watch the qualifying process certainly got behind the new breed of electric machinery, which was good to see.
A WET START
The morning of the actual competition gave the competitors in the inaugural FIM TrialE Cup for electric motorcycles plenty to think about as the rain came down over the first lap. The hazards at first appeared very difficult but the skill set of the riders soon had them finding their way through the slippery hazards. Containing a mixture of steep banks littered with tree roots and rocks it soon became obvious that Spain’s Marc Colomer would take some beating. As in the qualifying they rode the same course as Trial125. With Colomer in a class of his own, parting with just 19 marks on his first lap, all eyes were on the close battle for the other podium positions. This centred around Spain’s Cesar Panicot on the Mecatecno and France’s Bastien Hieyte from France on the Electric Motion. Despite both riders suffering many five-mark penalties they tied on forty marks lost each, leaving it all to play for on the second and final lap.
NO SHOCKS
Showing why he won the 1996 FIM Trial World Championship, Marc Colomer and the new Gas Gas destroyed the opposition in the drying conditions. In a display which had the crowd following his every move he scored a perfect clean lap, parting with no marks in the process. Spanish manufacturer Gas Gas has on many occasions taken the lead in the development of the trials motorcycle, and this was no better demonstrated than here in France with its full size electric machine.
The action behind the Spanish trials legend was so much closer as he finished 48 marks ahead of compatriot Cesar Panicot. Riding one of only two prototype Mecatecno machines — the other was ridden by its designer Jordi Melia who finished the event with a very painful ankle injury. Panicot finished just one mark clear of France’s Bastien Hieyte on his Electric Motion who is one of the more experienced electric motorcycle riders. Without a doubt, the introduction of this class left the crowd very excited about the future of electric motorcycles in the sport.