Bou Wins Third Straight at German World Trial

Defending FIM Trial World Champion Toni Bou sweeps both days at the German GP.

Repsol Honda’s Toni Bou moved out to a commanding lead in the 2016 FIM Trial World Championship by landing atop the podium at the German GP in Gefrees, Germany, over the weekend.

It wasn’t a cakewalk for Bou, who is still nursing an injured shoulder tendon, as rainy conditions definitely made the 12-section, three-lap trial much more difficult for all of the competitors. The wet course made traction scarce, requiring even more balance and physical strength than usual.

Bou and main title rival Adam Raga battled each other in the points for most of Saturday’s event. Bou struggled early in the first few sections after he removed the tape on his injured shoulder to allow him better freedom of movement over some of the more difficult obstacles. It caused him great pain, and that may have contributed to consecutive faults in Section 2 and Section 3. Bou re-taped the shoulder and was much more comfortable as he battled it out with Raga for the rest of the trial. The difference maker came when Bou put together a better ride in Section 4 on the third and final lap. He would onto a two-point advantage as by the finish.

“I’m tired but very pleased with the way that the race turned out,” Bou said. “It was a bad decision to take the tape off my shoulder this morning because in the second section I really suffered. The fault in section three worsened the pain. Luckily, I was able to carry on and ride with a minimum amount of strength. After, it was a very tight trial but I just managed to win it and I’m pleased with the twenty points that I have added in the general standings.”

After struggling on Saturday, Bou rode with much more authority on Sunday, effectively eliminating the rest of the field from contention by enjoying a near-perfect second lap in which he picked up penalty marks in just two of the twelve sections—far fewer than anyone else. That gave Bou the luxury of starting the third and final lap without any pressure, and he easily collected his third consecutive (and fourth overall) win of the season.

“I think that after the mistakes that I made on the first lap, I was able to pull back well and perform a really good second lap,” Bou said. “I was really tired for the huge effort that I had made yesterday, but it went pretty well. I felt much better riding the bike, and the shoulder didn’t bother me. This week’s result is really good for the championship, because as I have said before and I’ll repeat again; this year is going to be a really complicated championship.”

With that, Bou is now 11 points ahead of Raga in the 2016 FIM Trial World Championship series point standings. He leads Raga 114-103. Bou’s teammate, Takahisa Fujinami, is third with 74.

The next round of the FIM Trial World Championship is scheduled for June 11-12 in the tiny principality of Andorra, located in the Pyrenees Mountains on the border of Spain and France.

2016 FIM Trial World Championship
German GP
Gefrees, Germany
Results: May 28-29, 2016 (Round 3 of 8)

Day 1
1. Toni Bou (SPA)-Mon/35
2. Adam Raga (SPA)-TRS/37
3. Albert Cabestany (SPA)-She/38
4. Takahisa Fujunami (JPN)-Mon/56
5. Jeroni Fajardo (SPA)-Ver/64
6. Jaime Busto (SPA)-Mon/65
7. James Dabill (GBR)-Ver/72
8. Miguel Gelabert (SPA)-RFM/86
9. Eddie Karlsson (SWE)-Mon/88
10. Oriol Noguera (SPA)-Mon/94

Day 2
1. Toni Bou (SPA)-Mon/30
2. Adam Raga (SPA)-TRS/47
3. James Dabill (GBR)-Ver/64
4. Jaime Busto (SPA)-Mon/67
5. Takahisa Fujunami (JPN)-Mon/70
6. Jeroni Fajardo (SPA)-Ver/84
7. Eddie Karlsson (SWE)-Mon/89
8. Franz Kadlec (GER)-GG/91
9. Pol Tarres (SPA)-TRS/92
10. Jorge Casales (SPA)-Bet/92

2016 FIM Trial World Champsionship Series Points Standings (after 3 of 8 rounds)
1. Toni Bou-114/3 wins
2. Adam Raga-103
3. Takahisa Fujinami-74
4. Albert Cabestany-73
5. Jaime Busto-72
6. James Dabill-62
Jeroni Fajardo-62
8. Matteo Grattarola-34
9. Franz Kadlec-32
10. Jorge Casales-28