DOWNTOTHEWIRE

Portugal

The Senhora dos Verdes Park venue is a recreational park found just outside the village of Gouveia below the hillside in the District of Guarda in Portugal, in the north of the country. Located at around 180km from the well-known city of Porto the heat, as in 2018, was once again the enemy such was its intensity. The new river hazards to be included in the two laps of 15 hazards added some variety for the riders to attempt in addition to the large rocks found in abundance in this area. This trial was going to be make or break for both Gabriel Marcelli and Alexandre Ferrer if they were going to stop the defending champion Matteo Grattarola from moving closer to his second Trial2 title.

It was in fact Francesc Moret who led the way at the close of the first lap by just by a single mark from Frenchman Ferrer, followed closely by Marcelli and the surprise package of the event Italian Lorenzo Gondola, with Grattarola down in sixth position. On the second lap the scores came down to single figures, the best lap score coming from Great Britain’s young talent Jack Peace on three marks lost. The other riders on single-figure scores included the eventual winner Gabriel Marcelli on five followed by Ferrer, as expected, on seven and Lorenzo Gondola making his way to an eventual third spot on the podium on eight marks lost, pushing Grattarola down into seventh position with his second-lap score of ten marks lost.

For English rider Toby Martyn a poor tenth-place finish removed any chance of championship glory in 2019. This was the worst performance from Grattarola this season, which allowed the other championship challengers to move closer to him at the head of the points table making it all to play for in France.

RESULTS: 1: Gabriel Marcelli (Montesa-ESP) 23; 2: Alexandre Ferrer (ShercoFRA) 23; 3: Lorenzo Gondola (Vertigo-ITA) 25; 4: Jack Peace (Sherco-GBR) 26; 5: Francesc Moret (Montesa-ESP) 27; 6: Luca Petrella (Beta-ITA) 30; 7: Matteo Grattarola (Honda-ITA) 31; 8: Sondre Haga (TRRS-NOR) 31; 9: Aniol Gelabert (Scorpa-ESP) 34; 10: Toby Martyn (Beta-GBR) 37; 11: Billy Green (MontesaGBR) 37; 12: Julien Perret (Gas Gas-FRA) 47; 13: Pablo Suarez (Gas Gas-ESP) 60; 14: Sergio Ribau (Sherco-ESP) 61; 15: Hakon Pedersen (Gas Gas-NOR) 63.

France

The high altitude of Auron in France which is surrounded by a majestic ring of mountains, some of which go as high as 2,500 metres above sea level, meant that both the two- and four-stroke trials machines would struggle with their performance at this altitude. The 15 hazards with a mixture of rocks, dry river beds and steep climbs are situated at around the 1,700 metre mark, making machine setup of paramount importance. The course covers a distance of approximately four kilometres with a mixture of hazards including rocks, dry river beds and steep climbs. The day opened overcast before the sun shone through on the action.

After qualifying Matteo Grattarola found himself in fifth position and in doing so gave the advantage to Gabriel Marcelli, but the biggest loser was the eventual winner Alexandre Ferrer, who would be starting with the opening riders at the head of the field. The French rider had the support of the patriotic crowd behind him, but take nothing away from Ferrer as he posted a low score of just five marks lost on his opening lap. Very much on his case were both Marcelli on eight, Grattarola on nine and, showing he has lost none of his talent, Great Britain’s Toby Martyn on ten.

Behind these leading riders the marks remained very close, opening the eyes to a potential eight riders who could all win. As it turned out no one was going to beat Ferrer with another low-scoring lap of seven marks lost, who along with his minder Mederic Delannoy celebrated the French win.

Two other notable rides on the second lap and the only other singlefigure scores came from Francesc Moret (Montesa-ESP) on eight and Teo Colairo (Gas Gas-FRA) on nine. Showing a return to form, Great Britain’s Toby Martyn just missed the podium to come home fourth.

With Ferrer winning and Marcelli finishing second after beating Grattarola by a single mark, it has set up a ‘Grand Finale’ in Spain to determine who will be the 2019 FIM Trial2 World Champion.

RESULTS: 1: Alexandre Ferrer (Sherco-FRA) 12; 2: Gabriel Marcelli (MontesaESP) 19; 3: Matteo Grattarola (Honda-ITA) 20; 4: Toby Martyn (Beta-GBR) 22; 5: Aniol Gelabert (Scorpa-ESP) 22; 6: Jack Peace (Sherco-GBR) 24; 7: Francesc Moret (Montesa-ESP) 24; 8: Teo Colairo (Gas Gas-FRA) 28; 9: Hakon Pedersen (Gas Gas-NOR) 30; 10: Luca Petrella (Beta-ITA) 37; 11: Pablo Suarez (Gas GasESP) 42; 12: Julien Perret (Gas Gas-FRA) 47; 13: Lorenzo Gondola (Vertigo-ITA) 49; 14: Billy Green (Montesa-GBR) 50; 15: Sergio Piardi (Beta-ITA) 51.

Gabriel Marcelli (Montesa-ESP): Once again it’s a Team RG Montesa rider who is challenging for the 2019 title as the four-stroke machines remain dominant in this class. Matteo Grattarola (Montesa-ITA) Alexandre Ferrer (Sherco-FRA): Maybe it’s just too much to ask to win the title in his first year in this class but who knows! We will just have to wait until Spain. Toby Martyn (Beta-GBR): The talent is there for sure; this is not fabricated talent, it’s a natural gift waiting to win, but this year has not been the one.

Luca Petrella (Beta-ITA): An inconsistent season has kept him out of the top five. Francesc Moret (Montesa-ESP): It’s almost unbelievable that Francesc Moret is not higher up the championship given the ability he has! Jack Peace (Sherco-GBR): This is another great talent just waiting to mature into a winner, and it will happen. Aniol Gelabert (Scorpa-ESP): With an all-action riding style Aniol is another young rider who will mature into a good solid rider.

Lorenzo Gondola (Vertigo-ITA): Still a young rider in this championship, the result in Portugal will have done his confidence the world of good. Billy Green (Montesa-GBR): It’s still a steep learning curve for Billy, who has learned so much in his first season in Trial2. Sondre Haga (TRRS-NOR): Injuries, including riding with a broken hand in France, have hindered a good solid result all season.