Bou wins in Barcelona for 17th time
The Repsol Honda Trial Team rider wins the first round of the X-Trial Championship season. Teammate Marcelli completes the rostrum.
The Palau Sant Jordi in Barcelona hosted the inaugural 2024 X-Trial World Championship round, where the Repsol Honda Trial Team riders provided a great performance in front of the home fans. Toni Bou earned his seventeenth victory at the venue, whilst teammate Marcelli rounded off the podium.
The reigning World Champion thrilled the fans at the Palau Sant Jordi. From the first lap, Bou took the lead after collecting a single penalty point at Zone 3, a position he would maintain on the second lap. In the final, the Repsol Honda Trial Team rider faced Jaime Busto and Gabriel Marcelli, and emerged victorious over the six zones.
Marcelli continued at the same level with which he ended 2023. After accruing four penalty points on the first lap, the Repsol Honda rider was third. On the second lap, the young Spaniard made some mistakes that caused him to pick up seven penalty points, but this did not prevent him from reaching the final together with Bou and Busto. After overcoming the last six zones, Marcelli took third place.
Bou leads the standings with 22 points and Marcelli is third with 12. The next event of the X-Trial World Championship will be on March 15th in Chalon- Sur-Saone (France).
Toni Bou 1
CHAMPIONSHIP:1ST
“Without a doubt, starting the season here is special because it is our home race. I don’t know if it was the best edition of the Barcelona round, but it was very close. The level was rising as the laps progressed, but we managed to handle it well, especially in the final. We are still living a dream, so it’s time to enjoy it. Thank you to the team for the support and for all the work they have done during preseason.”
Gabriel Marcelli 38
CHAMPIONSHIP: 3RD
“I’m happy, but not completely satisfied. I wanted to win, but I didn’t have a good enough feeling to do it… Maybe I carried some extra pressure and I wasn’t able to perform as well as I wanted. Being on the podium to start the season is a good result and, in addition, we are free of discomfort and injuries, so I will take away the positives. For the next round we will seek to improve on the mistakes we made and fight to be at the top again.”
Takahisa Fujinami
Team Manager
“Finishing the first race in first and third position is very good. We have trained a lot in the winter and that was shown. The setup of the bike is good, so now we will prepare for the next round in France. Toni was great and I know Gabri can be up there too if he handles the pressure better, so we remain focused on getting a one-two. The whole team have worked very hard and I am very happy.”
