Albert Cabestany
It’s always good to see new faces in the rapidly expanding world of classic trials. So, when my good friend, the organiser, Joan Comas, contacted me concerning the 2019 Costa Brava two-day event in Spain to tell me Albert Cabestany was riding, it certainly put a smile on my face. I have been in regular contact with Albert and his father, Francesc, for many years on the FIM World Championship scene and in more recent times, when he rode the Gas Gas electric trials model to the world title in 2019. Talk about rewinding the clock; he would soon be riding a twin-shock Fantic, circa 1984 – quite a difference from the all-singing, all-dancing 2019 Gas Gas which works at the flick of a switch.
Congratulations on the ‘Costa’ win
Thank you very much! As you know, it’s never easy to win an easy trial. You always need to stay focused on your goal but most of all it’s a little bit strange because you try to have fun, but at the same time everybody expects you to win, so to find a good balance is not an easy thing. I have to make it clear that the only goal for me was to have fun and understand why everybody loves this kind of event. I thank Joan Comas for thinking of me and allowing me to ride his fantastic trial.
Your father, Francesc, is a classic fan?
Nobody in the family really likes classic trials machines, as we think we can enjoy more of what we love, which is trials, with modern trials motorcycles. In fact, my father’s favourite model is the Gas Gas TXe, the electric one.
In Spain, things are not easy regarding access to the mountains with a trials machine, and he found that with this one people accept us much more than with petrol-powered ones. Many people close to us use classic machines and push him to join them, but every time he tries one, he is even more convinced about how good the modern ones are. He understands they had their place in the past and the history of motorcycle trials but says if he has the chance to use a modern machine why not?
Where did the idea come from to compete at the Costa Two-Day?
I’ve always heard great things about this trial, and via Facebook, Joan offered me the chance to come and ride it, and I just wanted to give it a try. My father had the opportunity to compete, but he always prefers to stay close to me and enjoy this day out together. It’s a fantastic event and very well organised. The modern trials scene could learn so much from this type of event. They should understand that maybe what people want are trials in fantastic places with the same level of difficulty in the sections and the same ambience. Do not increase the riding level; just focus on having a good time with excellent organisation!
Who owns the Fantic you rode?
The Fantic I used was from a doctor they call ‘Bala’, if I am correct. I would like to thank him for letting me use his machine. Basically, I didn’t touch a thing other than put the handlebars a little further forward. I had it for just a couple of days’ practice before the trial. I focused on understanding the Fantic’s capabilities so that I could have a pleasant experience during the trial.
Was this your first Classic event?
Yes, this was my first classic event as a rider. At my hometown, many people used to ride classic machines and organise events as well. Next year they are also preparing a two-day classic event, so maybe I will ride in it. It was good to see Takahisa Fujinami and Jeroni Fajardo at the event, but they were both on modern machines.
Sherco forbade Jeroni to ride a classic machine as they pay him to sell the Sherco 2020 model, not the classic trials, which I understand. What factories should realise though is that they need to promote (or find someone who does) more events like the Costa Brava but for modern machines; the ones they are selling to people. They should be more involved, maybe, in giving the customer the experience and not so focussed on making the sale.
2019 FIM TrialE World Champion!
I must admit, I am a massive fan of E-trial machines. I have a really good friend who built his own five years ago. I’ve been in contact with him since the first day, as it is an area that I am really interested in. I’m convinced that it can make the difference and make the sport I love, grow as it deserves to. From the moment I had the chance to be more involved in the electric world, I didn’t doubt it; I embraced the opportunity.
“The opportunity is there for you to customise the E-machine to levels you could never imagine before so that you can have a much better product for your riding style.
Tell us about the difference between petrol and electric power
At the moment, E-bikes do not have the performance of the petrol ones, but it is to be expected as we are just at the beginning of the project. With petrol, we can say they have arrived at their limit; they have almost nothing more to offer. You can just scratch the surface, but not make a significant change.
With the E-bike, there are many good things that you need to understand compared to petrol power. Absolutely no vibrations, no carburettor setup or loss of power at high altitudes, like Andorra.
The opportunity is there for you to customise the E-machine to levels you could never imagine before so that you can have a much better product for your riding style. Battery performance should improve; this is clear. While this is happening, it’s important that we start to set up the machine, so when that moment is a reality, we can offer a fantastic product. Right now, though, for example, I can use my TXe for two hours without stopping just to drink water, so for a high percentage of the people, this is more than enough. I’m also thrilled about the fact that the setup of the machine is more important than ever and there is fascinating work to do around this. For me, it is ‘The Future’.
Are you still involved in the trials world?
Yes, I have recently joined Gas Gas as a TrialE rider and to help them in the development of their models. I had the chance to come back to the TrialGP class with them, but there’s nothing that makes me want to go back. It would be like living in the movie ‘Groundhog Day’. Being involved with the E-machine makes me stay more motivated. I really have so much fun and enjoy riding my TXTe; it’s exciting work, fantastic, and it surprises me constantly. That’s
the better part of being at Gas Gas as they have a wide range of models.
I have also been working on my website: www.albertcabestany.tv where the people who love this sport, and want to enjoy and understand it more, will have the chance to learn from my videos. The game-changer of this website is that they will have the chance to interact with me by uploading their videos, and I will explain to them what are they doing wrong or how they can solve the problems they are experiencing.
As we arrive at the beginning of 2020, it’s almost ready, using different brands of machines. Now I have joined the Gas Gas family, I will have to make some new videos just riding a Gas Gas! I think it will be something really exciting and interesting for all trials people. Combined with trial schools, I can demonstrate all my experience and skills I’ve learned over the years.
Will we see you defend your E-world title?
It will be one of my goals for 2020. For sure it will not be easy, but we will give our best, as we did in 2019, to achieve this goal. Let’s see which brands and contenders we will meet this year! But we will take this as a motivation to improve our Gas Gas TXTe and give a better product to the customer.
What are your thoughts on the current FIM World Championship?
Well, what I felt when I was involved as a rider and what I felt in 2019 from the outside, is the same; both X-trial and TrialGP make things so hard to understand and apply. It has no sense; it should be easier to observe and more thrilling for the spectator. The X-Trial is so dangerous and, regarding the engine touch rule, it’s unbelievable how they apply it. Now you have two-and-a-half hours of a show, and you enjoy just 20 minutes of it. They miss out some good riders and put some that still don’t deserve to be there. It’s funny. It’s a world championship; not a young-age-and-different-nations championship. If I go there as a spectator, I want the best show in the world; it doesn’t matter if the rider is from Spain, is 39 years old or anything else. TrialGP: how many pages do we have for this interview [laughing]. I will start by saying that non-stop rule is an unfair one and, with time, it will just get worse. I don’t know what are they waiting for — a miracle maybe?
How many more years should we throw away? As I have explained, I have seen this situation from both sides of the fence.
Have you any answers?
I have a new system that I think could be great for the sport — something where you can make all classes compete together and have one overall classification. Then there are individual competitions in Trial2, Trial125, TrialE, and Women’s Trial. I think this would be something great for the sport.
This year, if I had the chance, I would give it a try in an event close to my home town; let’s see if I can manage to make it happen. If the FIM is really interested in our sport, I’m open to talk with them and help in any way I can, but they should also be open-minded and really want to do something for our sport, not just pretend to do it.