The 2026 FIM X-Trial World Championship came to a fitting conclusion in Tarragona, with Repsol Honda HRC once again setting the benchmark as Toni Bou closed out the season with victory and teammate Gabriel Marcelli secured the world championship runner-up title at the CaixaBank Tarraco Arena.
Bou delivered yet another trademark performance under pressure, controlling the final from start to finish to claim his eighth win from nine rounds this season. The result also marked a major milestone, becoming the 99th X-Trial World Championship victory of his career.
“It’s been a really special night as we’ve achieved our 99th X-Trial victory,” Bou said. “Finishing the season with a win makes me incredibly happy, so now we have to enjoy this wonderful moment. I’m very proud of how we’ve handled my injury, and achieving so many wins is very impressive. Now, our next goal is the TrialGP World Championship. We start at Honda’s home round in Japan, a race with a lot of pressure, so we’ll work hard to be as prepared as possible.”
The final round was decided late in the piece, with Bou edging Marcelli by just four points after a demanding final that proved unforgiving across the sections. Of the six sections, none of the finalists managed a clean sweep, with one proving impossible for all four riders to complete. Bou ultimately made the difference in the third section, where Marcelli, Jaime Busto and Matteo Grattarola all incurred costly five-point penalties.
Marcelli’s runner-up finish capped off a strong and consistent season, with the result in Tarragona enough to secure second in the overall standings and complete a Repsol Honda HRC one-two championship finish.
“I’m finishing the season with a great feeling and very happy with the runner-up position,” Marcelli said. “I think I’ve been very consistent throughout the season, although I missed out on my first victory, which was one of my goals. Even so, I’m very happy with the work we’ve done and I want to thank the team. I’m very positive about the TrialGP World Championship, which starts in less than a month. I have a great feeling about the bike and I’m very happy with the team, so we’ll try to do our best.”
Behind the Honda duo, Matteo Grattarola secured his second podium of the season with a strong third-place finish, continuing his solid late-season form. The Italian was also one of the standout performers in qualifying, winning Q2 by just two seconds ahead of Arnau Farre, with Francesco Titli, Harry Hemingway and Marco Mempor completing the second phase group.
Jaime Busto, in his debut season with Beta, finished fourth in the final after two costly five-point penalties in the middle sections effectively ended his challenge for victory.
The result confirmed a dominant season for Bou and Repsol Honda HRC, with team manager Takahisa Fujinami praising the consistency and execution across the campaign.
“We’ve wrapped up an incredible season with Toni as champion and Gabri as runner-up,” Fujinami said. “In Tarragona, Toni proved he’s at a very high level. I’m very happy with how the whole year has gone, as he’s achieved 8 wins from 9 races. While Gabri didn’t manage to secure his first victory, he still finished as runner-up, and I’m satisfied with that result.”
With the indoor season now complete, attention turns quickly to the TrialGP World Championship, which begins in Japan in less than a month.
