Jaime Busto claimed his fourth career win in a rare Grand Final without Toni Bou
The first visit to Estonia for the X-Trial World Championship saw Jaime Busto (GasGas) secure his first victory of the season, Benoit Bincaz (Sherco) return to the podium, and Toni Bou (Repsol Honda Trial Team) outside of the rostrum places altogether.
In a close-fought night of competition, X-Trial Tallinn was only settled in the last Section and by a one-mark margin in favour of Busto, ahead of his rival for second in the World Championship Standings Gabriel Marcelli (Repsol Honda Trial Team). The pair posted identical scores in all but the opening section of the Final, where Marcelli dropped a single mark to Busto, thus the Galician’s wait for a first victory continues. A first win for Busto since Wiener Neustadt, meanwhile, plus the bonus point for topping the scorecharts in Round Two, takes him a big step closer to retaining his FIM silver medal in 2024. Meanwhile for Benoit Bincaz, a first trip to the rostrum since Bilbao 2020 ends a 16-Round podium drought.
But the biggest story of the night was the shock elimination of Toni Bou. In a low-scoring second Round, Bou could afford to concede a maximum of a single mark to secure his place in the Final, so a crash in Section Three immediately eliminated him. The first time outside of the rostrum places for Bou since his back injury in 2018 ends his run of ten consecutive victories.
Adam Raga’s (Sherco) single-mark second run gave him fifth place, but the veteran’s Section Two failure in Round One ultimately cost him any hopes of a podium. Wild Card Miquel Gelabert (Vertigo) finished two marks back from Raga after conceding ground in Section Four of his second run. Frenchman Hugo Dufrese matched Raga and Gelabert in Round One but suffered three fiascos in his second outing, nonetheless holding on for seventh place ahead of Jack Peace (Sherco) on the Brit’s World Championship debut.
Jaime Busto (1st): “I am very happy because after a positive first Round I rode an incredible second one and the final was perfect. It was only decided in the last Section, but I felt very good and strong throughout. This result is important in the battle for second overall.”
Gabriel Marcelli (2nd): “I think I rode well today but I made a couple of mistakes on a very easy course and this has cost me Championship points. But I think I am still riding at a high level and the target now is to claim my first win at X-Trial Pamplona.”
Benoit Bincaz (3rd): “It’s an incredible feeling and I think this podium is maybe even more important than my first. After going through injury and a lot of negative circumstances I am finally here, and I am so pleased after the last four years.”
The remaining Round of the season takes place in Pamplona on the 16th November.
Photo Gallery
