Bou Battles It Out In France
R
epsol Honda's Toni Bou
took a narrow victory in the
second round of the FIM X-Trial
World Championship, held for
the first time in Chalon-sur-Sa-
one, France, March25.
In the first of two rounds, Bou
tied on points with Adam Raga
(TRRS), finishing ahead due to
his completing the course in a
faster time. In the second round,
the situation was repeated, as
he matched Raga again with
a superior pace. With this, he
reached a tight final in which
he prevailed with seven penalty
points to Raga's eight and Toby
Martyn's 27.
With two events held to date,
Bou leads the overall standings
with a total of 43 points, 13 points
ahead of Raga.
"It was a very good trial for
us," Bou said. "There were
sections that were very slippery
and, in particular, there were a
couple of areas that were really
make or break. And that's what
we did. In round one, I tied with
Adam Raga, in the second lap,
too, and in the final, I won by a
single point. Raga didn't make
any mistakes, he only failed in
the most complicated part of the
track, and that's when I was able
to capitalize and take the victory.
We have started the champion-
ship very well with the two wins
and achieving three of the four
possible bonus points, but it is
true that we are all battling hard
for this world championship."
The next round will be held on
April 2 in Madrid.
CN
FINAL
1. Toni Bou (Hon) 7 points
2. Adam Raga (TRRS) 8
3. Toby Martyn (TRRS) 27
IN
THE
WIND
P48
Toni Bou (center) had to fight for
the overall win at the X-Trial round
in France. The Spaniard edged
out fellow countryman Adam
Raga (left) by one point with Great
Britain's Toby Martyn taking third.
