A perfect lap in Andon wasn‰Ûªt enough for Toni Bou to seal victory on the second day of the French GP in the fifth round of the world championships as Gas Gas rider Adam Raga put an end to Bou's 2015 win streak.
In spite of completing a blistering final third lap without so much as a penalty mark, two errors in the previous lap were enough to put an end to an impressive nine-race stretch of wins for the Repsol Honda Team ace.
An error in section six and a fall in the final section of lap two translated into a high number on the scorecard. Nevertheless, far from throwing in the towel on the final lap, Bou came out swinging with an even greater determination than usual, scoring a mark-free round over all twelve sections.
A brilliant reaction, but not enough to see off nearest rival Adam Raga who stole victory by four points. The Repsol Honda Team rider does, however, maintain a 34 point advantage over the closest second place rival.
"It was a shame." Bou said after missing out on the win on day two after a convincing victory on day one. "The second lap was poor and I wasn‰Ûªt able to recover from the mistakes made.
"I went into section six too quickly and fell in section twelve. I fought hard for second place because I knew that I couldn‰Ûªt win the trial in sections where it was really difficult to pull back a lot of marks. If you can‰Ûªt win, you have to settle for second.
"Today, Adam had a chance in an easy trial which was better suited to him than me. It was bound to happen some day. I will be fighting 100% of the way in Andorra and hopefully the fall won‰Ûªt affect me.
Round 5 - Day 1 Results
1 Toni Bou 21 ESP HONDA Repsol Honda Team - HRC
2 Adam Raga 39 SPA GAS GAS Gas Gas
3 Takahisa Fujinami 41 JPN HONDA Repsol Honda Team - HRC
4 Albert Cabestany 46 SPA SHERCO Sherco Factory Team
5 Jeroni Fajardo 53 SPA BETA Beta Factory Racing
6 Alexandre Ferrer 67 FRA SHERCO Sherco Factory Team
7 Jaime Busto 68 ESP HONDA Repsol Honda Team - HRC
8 Jorge Casales 79 SPA BETA Beta Factory Racing
9 Eddie Karlsson 102 SWE HONDA Honda
10 James Dabill 109 GBR VERTIGO Vertigo
Round 5 - Day 2 Results
1 Adam Raga 12 SPA GAS GAS Gas Gas
2 Toni Bou 16 ESP HONDA Repsol Honda Team - HRC
3 Jeroni Fajardo 33 SPA BETA Beta Factory Racing
4 Takahisa Fujinami 38 JPN HONDA Repsol Honda Team - HRC
5 Albert Cabestany 40 SPA SHERCO Sherco Factory Team
6 Jaime Busto 42 ESP HONDA Repsol Honda Team - HRC
7 Eddie Karlsson 50 SWE HONDA Honda
8 Alexandre Ferrer 69 FRA SHERCO Sherco Factory Team
9 Jorge Casales 71 SPA BETA Beta Factory Racing
10 James Dabill 90 GBR VERTIGO Vertigo
Championship standings
1 Toni Bou 197 pts
2 Adam Raga 163 pts
3 Jeroni Fajardo 140 pts
4 Takahisa Fujinami 126 pts
5 Albert Cabestany 125 pts
6 Jaime Busto 101 pts
7 James Dabill 80 pts
8 Alexandre Ferrer 74 pts
9 Eddie Karlsson 52 pts
10 Franz Kadlec 52 pts
Top Image: Toni Bou claimed his 9th win of the year on day one before Raga put an end to his streak on day two.
Credit: Honda
