WIND
IN THE
P56
Bou Perfect in Italy
I
t was a great weekend for Toni
Bou and his Repsol Honda
HRC team in Italy, where Bou
topped both days of competi-
tion in rounds four and five of
the X-Trial Championship, and
Honda left town after going 1-2
both days.
Bou and his Montesa Cota
4RT-mounted teammate, Gabriel
Marcelli, secured the top two
steps of the podium Saturday
and Sunday, while third place
went to GasGas factory rider
Jaime Busto on Saturday and
Beta's Matteo Grattarola on
Sunday. Busto failed to qualify
for the final on Sunday.
Bou leads the championship
with 95 points, and Marcelli
increased his lead over Busto
with 72 points. Busto trails Mar
-
celli by 10 points. Beta's Harry
Hemingway is fourth (35 points)
and Grattarola is fifth (21).
"This weekend in Italy has
been incredible," said team man-
ager Takahisa Fujinami on Sun-
day. "Today we achieved another
one-two finish, our fourth of the
year, and I'm very happy with all
the team's work. Toni was amaz
-
ing today, completing the first
round with zero penalty points
and having a very strong final.
He's extended his lead in the
overall standings and is gradu-
ally recovering physically [from a
lingering shoulder injury sus-
tained in preseason practice].
As for Gabri, he looked more
comfortable on the bike today,
and the results reflected that. He
achieved another podium finish,
and Jaime's absence from the fi
-
nal gives him a small advantage
in the championship, which is
important. Now we have a short
break, which we'll use to rest and
come back stronger for the next
race."
Toni Bou and Gabriel
Marcelli made it a
Team Honda HRC
1-2 at the FIM X-Trial
rounds four and five in
Italy.
