Toni Bou secures his 3rd victory at the X-Trial in Marseille

Rider Toni Bou has once again been unstoppable in Marseille. The Catalan has won the FIM X-Trial 2012 event on the French track and is now on course for a possible three out of three, arriving at the Madrid round in incredible form.

Bou showed his dominance on both nights, in both the qualifying round and the final. Remember that the event in Marseille is held on Friday and Saturday, with the big day being the final on Saturday, where Bou once again emerged as the best and is a step above the rest of the competitors.

Behind him came Adam Raga, who once again gave his all to try to stop the Repsol Montesa rider, while completing the French podium was Albert Cabestany on the Sherco. That’s a national podium in France, and our riders once again show why they are the best in the world at Trial, this time at the Palais des Sports arena with a full house of spectators.

The dominance was flawless right from the qualifying round, when Bou scored just four points in the opening section on Friday, considering that it consisted of seven extremely complicated zones. So despite picking up two time penalties, none of the other competitors could get close to the times set in the first French round. Raga rode well for as long as he could, but with Cabestany close behind, and there was great interest in seeing the battle between the GasGas and Sherco riders.

Some rivals could not fight for long due to fatigue; it’s clear they lack experience in this type of event. Among them were Michael Brown and Alfredo Gómez, as well as Alexandre Ferrer, who was heavily penalised for time, while our own Pol Tarrés showed good form on his JTG debut with his Jotagas. The only Frenchman of the night, Loris Gubian, showed good feeling and a solid performance, but could do nothing against the Spanish beasts; Jeroni Fajardo eliminated him in the semi-final.

Saturday night started strangely, as Bou lost his balance in section five and scored the maximum points for that zone. It was the only mistake the Repsol Montesa rider made; the rest was perfect and unmatched, but that small moment was a little odd, though Bou is human and such things can happen. For his part, his teammate Takahisa Fujinami had a difficult day with a big crash during the run, his bike flying through the air and everyone left surprised, but luckily it was only a scare, and in the end he finished fourth in the French overall.

For Cabestany it was not easy either, and he got very frustrated with some mistakes that are not typical for him, but his third place leaves a better taste than expected, and he is now tied for the overall standings with Raga, so maximum excitement for second place.

Now the X-Trial takes a break until the Madrid round, about five weeks of rest, and in March the action returns, this time at the Palacio de Congresos in the Spanish capital.

Statements from Toni Bou:

The zones were very long and demanded not only good technique but also speed to get through them without exceeding the time limit. I chose to take risks, and that gave me the win in the semi-final with six points fewer than the second-placed rider. I did not change my approach in the final, where I started by scoring five points on the first obstacle, because I wanted to go too fast.

I had a good run and once again I felt very good on the bike, confident in myself. I am in a good moment, I am fully enjoying it, and every victory motivates me more to keep fighting.

FIM X-Trial Marseille Results