The X-Trial World Champion makes history once again and closes his second consecutive decade of world titles by winning the third-to-last round of the season
Toni Bou (Repsol Honda Trial Team) has once again made history in X-Trial and in global motorsport, being crowned World Champion tonight for the twentieth consecutive time at the X-Trial in Chalon-sur-Saône, where he claimed his seventh victory of the season despite finishing with a crash in the final section.
The Spanish rider, who had already been the best in Q1 and the Superpole, created a gap in the second section of the Final, where he received a 2-point penalty while all his rivals could not avoid scoring a 5. In the next section, his teammate Gabriel Marcelli closed the gap to just one point, while the other two finalists, Jaime Busto (GasGas) and Harry Hemingway (Beta), had already lost significant ground and were battling for the third step of the podium.
Bou stepped it up again in the fourth section, being the only rider to complete it clean, and the cancellation of the fifth section effectively placed the title in his hands. In the final section, Marcelli—who had already secured second place—Hemingway, who achieved his second podium of the season, and Busto, who had a difficult final, all scored 5 points. With victory already secured, the World Champion took a risk to entertain the crowd but suffered a fall that caused a small cut on his hand. In the end, Bou confirmed both the victory and the title with 4 points fewer than Marcelli, 9 fewer than Hemingway, and 13 fewer than Busto.
Behind the four finalists were George Hemingway (Beta), fifth in his second appearance in the World Championship; Matteo Grattarola (Beta); debutant Pablo Echene (Sherco), who scored his first two points in the Championship; and fellow French rider Hugo Dufrese (Beta).
With the title decided, the battle for the runner-up position remains open between Marcelli and Busto, with a 10-point advantage for the Repsol Honda Trial Team rider.
Toni Bou (1st): “I am very, very happy with the victory and with securing my twentieth X-Trial World Champion title; something incredible. I felt very good throughout the event and in the final section, with the win already secured, I wanted to put on a show and took a risk, but I crashed. This twentieth title is special because I competed throughout the season with an injury to the tendons in my right shoulder, and both the team and I had to work very hard to minimize the impact of this serious problem. But that hard work has delivered this excellent result.”
Gabriel Marcelli (2nd): “It’s an important result. First of all, I want to congratulate Toni, my teammate, on his new championship title. He is the best. Today I felt very good from the very beginning, and I’m more satisfied with my riding than on other occasions, as well as with the result, which is very important for the Championship.”
Harry Hemingway (3rd): “I’m very happy to have achieved my second podium of the season. It was a really tough event. I combined good performances with some mistakes, but overall I think we should be proud of this result.”
The ninth round of the FIM X-Trial World Championship is scheduled for April 12 in Lisbon, but before that, next Saturday, March 14, Seville will host the FIM X-Trial of Nations.
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