Sublime Spaniard Toni Bou put in champions’ performances on the opening day of round two of the 2023 Hertz FIM Trial World Championship – the TrialGP of Portugal – at Gouveia today.
After suffering defeat at the opening round in Spain one week ago, normal service was resumed as Bou ran out the winner by thirteen marks in TrialGP.
Bad weather the previous day meant water levels were high in the stream sections where grip over a series of imposing boulders was hard to come by on the opening lap.
Bou, who’s targeting his seventeenth consecutive title, picked up just one maximum on the opening lap after failing to crest the triple rock steps of section five that remained unconquered all day and his score of nine at the halfway point put him seventeen clear of his Spanish team-mate Gabriel Marcelli.
A single mark further back, Jaime Busto from Spain – who shared the series lead with Bou at the start of the day – put in a solid second lap of twelve to improve to second and close on Bou who incurred seventeen additional penalties on his final lap.
“It has been a great race for us,” Bou said. “We had a very good first lap. The river sections were very slippery and it was quite difficult the first time around, but in the end, we only dropped 9 points and so far that has been our best ride in the championship. I am very happy and we are going to try to continue this pace. Things are sure to be tighter tomorrow, so today’s victory means even more.”
Another five adrift, Marcelli claimed his second podium finish of the season with third.
“I am very happy with how the day went,” Marcelli said. “We didn’t start off in the best way and I made a lot of mistakes at the beginning of the first lap, but in the end I improved a lot and managed to concentrate a bit more and climb up the positions. We finished the first lap in second position and in the end we took third place, so we are very happy. It has been a good result and tomorrow we expect more.”
Adam Raga (TRRS) completed the all-Spanish top four in front of Italy’s Matteo Grattarola.
The action from Gouveia resumes tomorrow.
