Toni Bou Makes History, Wins His 18th TrialGP World Title
The Spaniard extends his legend by securing his eighteenth outdoor Trial World Championship
Toni Bou has done it again: in August, he is the World Champion in TrialGP for the eighteenth time. The Barcelona rider adds his 35th world title, combining those won in indoor events as well, and continues his dream of reaching 40 titles. With one round remaining, the Repsol Honda rider triumphed in France, further extending his impressive record.
Bou remains unbeatable and made his mark at the Cahors event, a venue where he has previously won twice in the last two times he competed there. This time, his main goal was to finish ahead of his teammate Gabriel Marcelli to secure the title mathematically, and he achieved it spectacularly, claiming his 152nd career victory, while the Galician finished third.
Bou started the day with a first-place position in the first lap, which was not perfect due to a mistake in the first section on his Montesa Cota 4RT.
However, the Repsol Honda rider managed to rebound and finish first in both laps contested, sealing the final victory.
NEARLY PERFECT YEAR
With this win at Cahors, Bou secures his ninth victory out of ten races. The only time he didn’t win, he finished second. These excellent results have given him the chance to be crowned champion with one race left.
Meanwhile, Gabriel Marcelli holds the second position, with a 7-point difference from Jaime Busto. The name of the outdoor TrialGP vice-champion will be decided from September 13 to 15 in Ripoll, Spain, where Bou will enjoy his title without pressure.
“When there is a chance to win the title, there is always more pressure and the possibility of making a mistake, as happened in the first section, but then I was able to give my best version and we achieved a great victory. If you can win the title by winning the race, that’s even better,” says the rider from Piera.
“It has been a very good season where we have worked very well and even improved, which didn’t seem easy, thanks also to the incredible work done by the team. It is one of the best seasons of my professional career and I am very happy,” concludes the legendary 37-year-old rider, whose outdoor and indoor career includes 17 titles with the Spanish national team in the Trial des Nations and 208 podiums out of 263 TrialGP events.
