Australia opens 2014 World Trials Championship

Amongst a field of fifteen of the world's best trials riders in the Pro Class, past winners, including Adam Raga and Toni Bou, represented Spain, but Japan scored the opening round win on April 12, thanks to Takahisa Fujinami.

Team mate to Bou in the Repsol Honda squad (who actually run Montesas), Fujinami handled the Round 1 course best, accruing only eight penalty points, one ahead of Bou. Jeroni Fajardo (Beta) completed the podium, beating Raga on a countback.

Round 2, held the following day, saw the course altered to provide more of a challenge. This resulted in Bou taking the round win by a 6-point margin from Raga (7 to 13), with Fajardo well back in third (39 points). Once again, Fajardo's podium came on countback, after he finished equal on points with the Sherco-mounted Spanish veteran, Albert Cabestany.

There was controversy in Round 2, when a marshal moved a rock ahead of Raga's run, after several of the preceding competitors had been using it as a kicker to mount a much larger boulder.

In the World Cup class, which featured six Aussies, 16-year-old German Franz Kadlec (Beta) was the class of the field, beating out Italy's Matteo Poli (Ossa) in Round 1, while Spain's Jamie Busto finished an impressive third in his first ever World Cup event. In Round 2, first and second positions were reversed, with France's Steven Coquelin (Gas Gas) third.

Best-placed Aussie in the World Cup was Kyle Middleton, who finished eighth in both rounds, beating out a number of European regulars in the process. Middleton will go on to fly the flag in the Japanese and Spanish rounds of the series this year.

The 125cc Cup saw the same podium for both rounds: Gael Chatagno (France - Sherco) first, from Teo Colairo (France - Gas Gas), and Noe Pretalli (Switzerland - JTG). Aussie entrants fared better in this class, with Jono Chellas finishing fifth in Round 1, while Sam King took a fifth place in Round 2.

Images: Deus images