The Chester of Trialworld continues to receive relevant figures who have been part of the history of trial, or who remain active in different professional roles.
Jordi Tarrés, who needs no introduction, encompasses it all. On his arrival at Trialworld he found great surprises and a very special decoration: the bikes that have impacted him the most in his professional life.
First of all, a Beta TR34 Campionato, the previous step to the Beta Zero, which also accompanied us. Two bikes with which Jordi started the path of success and brought Spain the first offroad title.
The 1997 GASGAS JTX, which symbolized a change of stage with its retirement. And fourthly, a first series of TRRS in 2016, the project where he is currently immersed and where he deposits all his technical knowledge of trial.
Under this backdrop, we had a pleasant chat with great headlines. You can’t miss it.
THE BIKES OF THE 80S AND 90S
It is obligatory to start asking him about how he feels when he meets the motorcycles that began to build his history. “I see the bikes of my time as huge now, although these units that we have behind us (Beta TR34 and GASGAS JTX) bring back incredible memories. Above all, in my beginnings with Beta in 1987, and also with GASGAS in 1993, since the feeling was to race with a national brand and with the aim of bringing a world title to Spain with this bike.”
WHAT DID TARRÉS DO TO CONTINUE TO BE A BENCHMARK TODAY?
No one is surprised that the name of Tarrés is still very much alive in our sport, even though more than two decades have passed since his retirement as a driver. Why? “We came from a transition where Spanish brands closed for different reasons. On my arrival there was a very important socio-cultural moment; I had to look for a life outside of Spain and I ended up in Beta. I was the first Spanish offroad rider (not only trial) to be World Champion. Then came big sponsors, the proliferation of indoor trials and a period of sporting success. On the other hand, my figure inspired a generation that it was possible to achieve the dream of being at the top in a sport like trial.”
Jordi Tarrés is, indisputably, one of the fathers of modern trial. His ability to innovate in the riding style and thus evolve the trial models, gave him an important competitive advantage “The advent of disc brakes, hydraulic clutch, suspensions and weight reduction helped this technical evolution a lot. Applying the technique I already knew from the trial bike on the bike helped me to have a differential over my rivals for a certain period.”
"2-stroke and 4-stroke bikes shouldn't be racing in the same category. It's a physiological issue. It has nothing to do with the characteristics of a 4-stroke engine with more capacity to squeeze with technology than a 2-stroke engine. In no other speciality does it happen that a 2T and 4T motorcycle competes in the same category, since the promoters work so that there is equality and excitement in the competition."
How are today’s motorcycles different from two decades ago? For Jordi Tarrés “basically there is an evolution in dimensions, weight and suspensions. Mechanically in the clutch there are great advances, especially in robustness and speed. And it’s obvious that electronics also bring great value in this evolution.”
A fundamental factor in Jordi Tarrés’ career was his contribution to the creation of TRS and Jotagas. “Applying all my experience as a pilot, but also later as a team manager and linked to other brands, together with my way of being, very perfectionist, this TRS project was born. It’s a high-level bike, where we continue to work to improve and we know what the future of trial has to look like. We evolve faster than other brands.”
Trial competition, according to Tarrés
A key point in the conversation was to take an interest in how a newly created factory determines its Competition budget. What does it depend on? How is it organized? Is it one of the most relevant items?
For Tarrés “It’s all about the product. We can have a driver winning races, but if he’s not supported by a factory and a team, you can’t do anything. Once you have the product, you have to sow to reap. In the beginning, it was a strong bet and in a few years TRS went up a level.”
WHAT ABOUT MONTESA AND THE REST OF THE 2T?
There is a lot of talk about the technical differences between TRS and Montesa, the brands that occupy the first two positions in the world championship. Between the two they “accuse” each other of having technical advantages over each other.
The reality is that Montesa, with Toni Bou, has won the last 15 years uninterruptedly. How does Jordi Tarrés see it?
“The budget helps and allows you to go to higher levels. Here everything goes further. It’s a physiological issue. It has nothing to do with the characteristics of a 4-stroke engine with more capacity to squeeze with technology than a 2-stroke engine. In no other speciality does it happen that a 2T and 4T motorcycle competes in the same category, since the promoters work so that there is equality and excitement in the competition. Do we have to wait for Montesa to gain 30 years for this point to be regulated?”
“TONI BOU IS VERY GOOD, BUT HE’S NOT GOD”
For Tarrés, Toni Bou’s rider status is indisputable, although he clarifies that “Toni Bou is not God, he is very good. When several things come together, then you are God.” As for these differences between 2T and 4T, Tarrés is clear that “in the end it is the sum of small super clear differences, such as revolutions, displacement, power…”.
“If this continues, what sense does it make for brands to go to a World Cup that you know you won’t be able to win?”
WHY DIDN’T TRS MAKE A 4T BIKE?
In response to the previous question, we also asked Jordi about the possibility that TRS had manufactured a 4-stroke motorcycle.
According to Jordi “The 2T is a bike that we know a lot technologically and it’s cheaper to make a competitive bike. As for the series, it is not very attractive to make a bike with a higher price, higher weight and lower performance, other than the novelty itself. Now in the world championship there are more than 90% of 2T bikes and a 4T is winning”.
EVOLUTION OF THE SPORTING REGULATIONS
Then What measures are being taken? What is being proposed? We know that there is a brand association to give feedback to the federation.
On this point, Jordi feels that there has been no progress in recent years: “I am tired of going to meetings, making proposals and nothing being done”.
As for the Considering the minimum weight required to race the World Championship, Tarrés finds it ridiculous that a customer who buys a TRS as standard should have to weigh down the bike to compete: “We have steel forks, a bigger shock, lead… In other words, it costs us more money to run to put weight, than the other way around.”
WILL THERE BE AN ELECTRIC TRS FOR ADULTS?
This year the category of electric motorcycles disappears in the Trial World Championship, starting to race in full right in any category (with limitations on 125). How does Jordi Tarrés see this?
“It’s a big mistake to make electric motorcycles compete with 2-stroke and 4-stroke motorcycles. Now they have inferior performance, but in a while the opposite can happen.”
On whether TRS will manufacture electric motorcycles: “We are not working on an electric motorcycle for adults, it will all depend on what we see in the next few years in terms of homologations. Right now there is no prototype on our side. It’s true that brands like Electric Motion have a significant number of sales, but as soon as there are more manufacturers, those units will be distributed and it won’t be so interesting.”
HOW TO PROMOTE SUPPORT FOR YOUNG DRIVERS AND THE FUTURE OF THE COMPETITION?
“In the 1970s and 1980s, between 25,000 and 30,000 trial bikes were sold. Right now we probably don’t reach 9,000 units, and without the support of external sponsors. This means that we have a structure that must take into account what we are able to generate in terms of sales. The moment is good, there is geographical expansion and there are fans, but there is no expectation that sales will double. At the career level, it’s about going backwards, making careers more economical organizationally and simplifying as much as possible. Riders like me at the time, Raga or Bou, from the previous batch, come with better economic conditions because the circumstances and sponsors were different, but little by little everything will have to be normalized to make it sustainable, or the competition trial will be left for only a few”.
