Toni Bou and Jaime Busto set the record for the biggest margin of victory in the history of the FIM X-Trial of Nations as Spain continued its X-Trial of Nations domination at Vend̩space, France.
The pair did not drop a single mark in the first two rounds of the contest while French pair
Benoit Bincaz and
Alexandre Ferrer accumulated 12 marks as they joined them in the Final.
Bincaz was handicapped by a fall in the warm-up prior to the event which left him with bruising to his wrist and leg, but he performed well alongside Ferrer to take France to second place despite some late failures. Spain also suffered a couple of fiascos in the Final but won by 12 marks to 34.
British youngsters
Jack Price and
Toby Martyn performed superbly, finishing just one point behind France after the first two rounds to just miss out on the Final. Martyn ‰ÛÒ on his X-Trial debut ‰ÛÒ and Price were two of the stars of the evening to take third for Great Britain for the second year running.
The Italian team of
Luca Petrella and
Matteo Grattarola finished fourth despite completing round one a point ahead of Great Britain, largely thanks to a disappointing second lap for Petrella.
Norway returned to competition after seven years of absence and young
Sondre Haga and veteran
Hakon Pedersen had a hopeful first round but struggled badly on their second lap to finish in fifth place.
‰ÛÏIt has been an extraordinary triumph because we had two superb rounds to start and the Final was more demanding," Bou said. "We endured the pressure of competing against France well, largely because we had an important points advantage starting the Final. Jaime rode to a great level and I think we have done a great job as a team.‰Û
