VOL. 54 ISSUE 25 JUNE 27, 2017 P41
BOU BOUNCES BACK
A
fter slipping to
third in Andorra
seven days ago Rep-
sol Honda's Toni Bou
re-established his
dominance at TrialGP
France, round four of
the 2017 FIM Trial World
Championship, June
24, with a commanding
performance.
On the back of his
qualification victory, the
reigning FIM Trial World
Champion took full ad-
vantage of his starting
position at the rear of
the field to destroy the
opposition in Lourdes
with a divine display of
Trial technique.
Following a wet open-
ing lap that saw the ma-
jority of the field incurring time
penalties after being caught up
in section queues, the ten-time
FIM Trial World Champion led
fellow Spaniard Adam Raga
(TRRS) by 12 marks after parting
with 15 on observation and six
on time compared to his rival's
25 on observation and eight on
time.
With conditions drying dra-
matically, any hopes Raga may
have entertained of reeling in
the leader were blown out of
the water when Bou recorded a
sensational clean second lap,
earning him an eighteen-mark
victory.
"After the mistakes in An-
dorra this was a very important
victory," says Bou. "It was a
strange Trial with the conditions
very different between the first
and second laps."
"Staying clean on the second
lap was fantastic—I rode at one
hundred percent and I'm very
happy for this. My lead now is 13
points and I'm very much look-
ing forward to the next round in
England."
Sections one and 15 were
manmade in the town center
and took few marks, but the
remainder—comprising rocky
outcrops on a wooded hillside—
proved costly in the wet condi-
tions of the opening lap.
Never in contention for the
win after an expensive opening
lap that saw him part with 36 on
observation and five on time,
Spain's Jaime Busto (Repsol
Honda) backed up his debut
podium at TrialGP Andorra with
a fighting third place, his solid
second lap of just seven plac-
ing him four marks ahead of
Japanese teammate Takahisa
Fujinami. CN
1. Toni Bou (Hon)
2. Adam Raga (TRRS)
3. Jaime Busto (Hon)
4. Takahisa Fujinami (Hon)
5. Jeroni Fajardo (Ver)
Toni Bou returned to
his winning ways at
the TrialGP in France.
PHOTOGRAPHY
BY
HONDA
HRC
