The training started with bright blue skies and a dry track but afterFridays practice the scene was set to change, with torrential rain predictedthe riders were not sure how the already technical and fast track would evolve,but for the Damien and Fabien one thing was clear, they would give it all nomatter what.

Damien Spagnolo showed he was riding well after heposted the second fasted timed run, this helped him regain some of his lostconfidence from the first part of the season and also helped motivate histeam-mate Fabien. After a very wet start on Saturday morning the training wascancelled and the qualification postponed to Sunday – making a tight scheduleand no room for uncertainty.

Sunday arrived and as promised the sun was out,training was difficult as the track was still soaked but drying quickly. Damienwas the first down for the team and he posted a good time even though he rodeconservatively. For Fabien it was a slightly different story, he had somemechanical issues at the start which cost him some time and then rode slightlyoff form, he was not satisfied with his run but pleased when he saw hisposition of 13th.

After a few hours the final started and a tough choice had to be made –wet or dry tires, the track was constantly drying but wouldit be dry enough? The riders decided to stick with wet tires and concentrate on exploiting the good points in the technicalsection. Damien had an awesome run, only 3 days afterswitching to the new ZERO suspension prototype he confirmed that it works byplacing 18th.?Fabien was confident in the start, hoping for a podium finishhowever he knew it would not be easy on such a technical track. He startedpowerfully, hitting all the right lines and saw that he was back on form, bythe halfway mark he was flying making it look easy and he decided to let thebrakes go and see what happened, for sure it all happened for him, he posted anamazing time that no other rider could match and stayed firmly seated in thehot seat right to the end.

An amazing comeback for Fabien and his first worldcup win for his own team gave him and immense satisfaction which was added toby performance of his team mate Damien securing his first top 20 for the season. Overall an exceptional weekend for the team and the start of good thingsto come!

Final results:

1. Fabien Barel 3:03.33

2. Sam Hill 3 :04.04

3. Greg Minaar 3 :05.36

4. Justin Leov 3 :07.65

5. Brendan Fairclough 3 :08.50

18. Damien Spagnolo 3:11.68 

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