IN
THE
WIND
P54
Bou Clinches 13th Consecutive
World Crown
T
oni Bou (Repsol Honda)
continued to rewrite
the record books by taking
victory—and with it his 13th
consecutive world crown—at
the TrialGP France, round
six of the 2019 FIM Trial
World Championship, at the
Alpine resort of Auron, July
20-21.
The trial opened with five
sections in a dry riverbed
before moving to a peril-
ously steep, heavily-wooded
hillside and then signing off
at the arena-style section
used for the previous day's
qualification.
Bou was a clear leader
following the opening lap of
15 sections, and the sublime
Spaniard kept the pressure
on throughout lap two despite
a strong challenge from his
compatriot Jaime Busto (Vertigo)
who's finally found his form after
what's been up to now a below-
par season for him.
Bou's opening lap of seven
plus one time penalty gave him
a comfortable advantage of five
from Busto who also picked up
a single mark on time. He then
signed off in style with a second-
lap total of just one mark lost to
rewrite his place in the history
books.
"I made some mistakes on the
opening lap," said Bou, "but my
second lap was almost perfect.
This year has been a great year
for me."
Busto resisted fierce pres-
sure from Adam Raga (TRRS),
who recorded a second-lap
total of just eight, to hang onto
second by two marks on a total
of 23. Spaniard Jeroni Fajardo
(GasGas) was five behind Raga
with Japan's Takahisa Fujinami
(Repsol Honda) recovering from
a big qualification crash to take
fifth on 36.
"Today was a day where I had
to work hard to make any dif-
ference, especially during the
opening sections," Bou said.
"But that is what we did, and we
made it to section eight on zero.
I think I rode an intelligent trial. I
felt very comfortable on the bike.
As always, there is no better
way to win a new title than with
a victory and with good feelings.
It was a short but intense world
championship. I think that this
season we have matured a lot.
Last year we had so many inju-
ries, this year we have been very
comfortable on the bike, which
we've seen reflected in the wins
and the riding, so now it's time to
savor the moment and enjoy the
holidays." CN
Toni Bou clinched his 26th career
TrialGP World Championship in
France. PHOTO: HONDA HRC
