Toni Bou has successfully passed the procedure he had to overcome at the Milan Indoor Trial to be proclaimed Indoor Trial World Champion for the sixth consecutive time, accumulating a total of eleven world titles to his personal credit, surpassing Dougie Lampkin, with five.
To be mathematically proclaimed World Champion, he only had to place in the top five, something that statistically was almost impossible not to happen. Bou, not satisfied with what the calculator said, fought until the end of the race to celebrate his eleventh title as he usually does: by winning.
The rider from Piera has successfully completed a season where his superiority in absolute results is beyond doubt, counting his performances by victories. Nevertheless In the races where a priori the level of the sections was less selective, Bou has had more pressure and difficulties to stay at the front. A lot Raga, who already proved to be very close to him in Madrid, as Cabestany, who did the same in Mallorca, are Toni’s strongest rivals.
There is still one more round of the 2012 World Indoor Championship, to be held in Paris (France), where the beautiful duel between Cabestany and Raga for the runner-up spot will be resolved.
A BUMPY CAREER
The night began with an emotional tribute to the late Diego Bosis and a heavy accident by JTG rider Pol Tarrés, due to which he had to be evacuated to a nearby hospital with a
major concussion and apparently with a broken bone in his left hand.
The guest riders, Dani Oliveras and Giacomo Saleri, had a good performance, but failed to make it through to the semi-final round, as did a disappointed Michael Brown, who was finally eighth behind Oliveras.
The semi-final was also intense and exciting, with Bou’s mistake included, which was also joined by an irregular Fujinami and a little successful Gubian, who did not achieve a place for the final round. The one who did manage to get into the “top 3” that is indisputably dominating the world championship, Bou, Raga and Cabestany, was Fajardo, who finally had luck a little more in his favor.
The Clash of the Titans once again had as its protagonist to Adam Raga, that, as in Madrid, he was the only rider to put Piera’s rider in trouble, who had to work hard until the last section, where he suffered from a Spectacular accident that left the champion depleted in the back and head. Finally, a winner had to be resolved through a parallel race against Adam Raga, so Bou overcame it as best he could and beat his rival to win the title as every great champion likes: by winning.
Raga achieved a meritorious second place and he got into the fight for the runner-up position against Cabestany, who was third, against whom he will have to resolve this fight the next day March 31 in Paris. Fourth place went to Jeroni Fajardo, further away from his main rivals, but with the good feeling of having achieved an opportunity to fight in the last round.
Toni Bou’s statements: “On the one hand I’m happy, as it’s a very special day that I’ve been thinking about all week. This sixth title and the six wins are fantastic. On the other hand, I would have liked to celebrate it in a different way. I suffered a very strange fall, with a heavy blow to my head and back. I recovered from the dizziness and was able to beat the play-off, but at the moment I would be unable to do it.”
Click here to see more than 50 photos of the Milan Indoor Trial 2012
MILAN INDOOR TRIAL CLASSIFICATION
1) Toni Bou 10 points
2) Adam Raga 12 points
3) Albert Cabestany 17 points
4) Jeroni Fajardo 27 points)
Not qualified for the final round:
5) Takahisa Fujinami 10 points
6) Loris Gubian 21 points
Eliminated in Qualifying:
7) Dani Oliveras 17 points
8) Michael Brown 20 points
9) Pol Tarrés (retired)
INTERVIEW WITH TONI BOU AFTER HIS WORLD TITLE
The Repsol rider, Toni Bou, managed to continue adding to his impressive record last night with a new World Title. Bou took his sixth victory of the season and mathematically secured his sixth consecutive title in the specialty, the eleventh World Championship since he joined the ranks of the Repsol Montesa Honda team in 2007.
Last night the Milan crowd was once again able to see the extraordinary level of the Repsol riderWhat the victory was played in the last zone, a parallel run against Adam Raga. A heavy crash in the penultimate section had levelled the standings at 10 points and, overcoming the pain, Bou made use of his talent and pride to take the victory in a thrilling race, putting the finishing touch to a perfect championship.
How are you feeling after yesterday’s crash?
“I’m better, but it was a big scare. I heard a loud crack in the back and after a blow to the head you always get dizzy and disoriented. But I’ve improved quickly and today it doesn’t hurt as much, so that means it’s not serious.”
Winning a World Cup also helps you recover, doesn’t it?
“Absolutely. Yesterday I was very happy, but I couldn’t celebrate the title like on other occasions. I’ll celebrate when I’m a little better. It’s been a different World Cup.”
You had the title within reach, but what could be better than to achieve it with a victory
“I was aware that with a fifth position I would take the World Championship, but winning with a victory always feels better and is more important. It was also the sixth win in six races, it’s been a fantastic year and you can’t ask for more.”
In fact, you’ve had many fantastic years: since 2010 no one has been able to beat you, 15 wins in a row. How do you do that?
“It’s a great number and I’m very happy to have this pace. Now we have Paris and I want to enjoy it to the fullest. Rarely do you go into a race without pressure and now we have the opportunity to have fun.”
What’s the secret to maintaining such a consistent level?
“The important thing is to stay motivated. Things are going very well, everything is going according to plan and continuing to compete with enthusiasm is essential.”
How have you seen the level of testing this year?
“The difficulty is high, except for the event in Mallorca last week, and that’s very good. The more difficult they make it, the greater the motivation to pass each of the tests and that favors me for the championship.”
Little by little you are breaking records: six World Championships in a row, a figure with which you have already surpassed Lampking in indoor championships.
“At the moment I don’t see limits, I’m 25 years old, I’m young and I have a lot of desire and motivation to continue. As long as there are no physical impediments, I want to keep the pace.”
How do you see yourself for the outdoor season?
“I’m really looking forward to it. The first race didn’t go very well and Adam Raga was very strong and took the win, so everything points to it being a very disputed title.”
Text: Repsol
BIOGRAPHY OF TONI BOU
Born on October 17, 1986 and living in Piera (Barcelona), Toni Bou started as a Bike Trial rider when he was eight years old. After being proclaimed World Champion of the specialty in his category, in 1999 he made the leap to Trial on motorcycles.
Immersed in the motorcycling specialty, in 2001 he won the Spanish Junior Championship, a title that was followed by the 250cc European Cup. for promising youngsters in 2002, and the European Champion in 2003. In 2005 he was part of the winning team in the Trial of Nations, was runner-up in Spain in Indoor Trial and fifth in the Outdoor World Championship.
The following year, Bou achieved his first victories in the top category, both indoors (third in the World Championships) and outdoors, where he ended up occupying fifth place again in the final classification of the World Championship.
Joining the ranks of the Repsol Montesa Honda Team in the 2007 season, the rider from Piera won the World Indoor Championship that same year. On the handlebars of a 4RT, Toni Bou won four of the eight races that made up the indoor calendar. The high level exhibited placed him among the favorites for the Outdoor Trial World Championship, which he also won with great authority, after achieving nine wins out of a possible eleven. As a finishing touch, the Repsol rider won the Spanish Indoor Championship and his third victory, all consecutive, as a member of the Spanish team in the Trial of Nations.
The following year, the Repsol rider repeated title at the World Indoor Championships, and after seven victories in the Outdoor World Championship and five second places, Bou was once again proclaimed absolute king of the discipline for the second year in a row. At the end of the season, he revalidated the title in the Trial of Nations with Spain, and once again won the Spanish Indoor Trial Championship.
With an increasingly high level, Toni Bou defended both the Indoor and Outdoor Trial World Championships in 2009. He achieved four victories indoors, out of five events, and seven outdoors, out of the eleven that made up the calendar. He ended the season by also winning the national outdoor and indoor titles, as well as winning the Trial of Nations for the fifth time with the Spanish team, closing a historic season in which he won all five titles he competed in.
The rider faced the 2010 season without lowering his level one iota and has managed to materialize his two main objectives of the season: to repeat for the fourth consecutive year the victories in the World Championship, both Indoor and Outdoor. Four wins and a second place in the five races that made up the 2010 World Indoor Championship calendar confirmed his overwhelming dominance of the specialty. With his seventh victory in ten races at the Outdoor World Championship, the rider from Piera won his fourth consecutive outdoor title.
In the 2011 campaign, Bou achieved a similar feat, scoring a crushing title in the intense Indoor championship and ending the year with a hotly contested outdoor title.
With these two titles, added to the one won at the Milan Indoor Trial, Bou has won a total of eleven world titles and continues to write the history of the sport in golden letters. There are still the Trial World Championship and the National Championship, where we are sure that we will see great duels.
We leave you with some images of Toni Bou, corresponding to his childhood, where you could already see his good manners on the bicycle and children’s motorcycle, as well as the most representative of this 2011 campaign that has not yet ended.
Text: Trialworld
PILOT PROFILE
Name: Toni Bou Mena
Bike: Montesa Cota 4RT
Date of Birth: 17/10/86
Place: Piera (Barcelona).
World Cup debut: Ireland, 2003; 15th.
HONOURS
1994
Bike Trial Champion of Catalonia “Promesas”
1995
2nd Bike Trial World Championship “Poussin”
1996
2nd Bike Trial World Championship “poussin”
1997
Spanish Bike Trial Champion “Benjamín”
1998
Bike Trial World Champion “Minime”
2000
Bike Trial World Champion “Minime”
2001
Spanish Trial Champion “Junior”
2nd place in the European Youth Cup, 250 cc.
2002
European Youth Cup Champion, 250 cc.
11th Spanish Championship “Mr. A”
2003
European Trial Champion
13th World Championship.
8th Spanish Championship “Mr. A”
2004
9th World Championship.
2005
Team triumph at the Trial of Nations
2nd Spanish Indoor Trial Championship
4th place in the Spanish Outdoor Trial Championship
5th in the Trial World Championship
2006
Team victory at the Trial of Nations (outdoor and indoor).
Absolute Spanish Champion
3rd Indoor World Championships.
5th place at the World Outdoor Championships
2007
World Champion.
Indoor World Champion.
Winner of the Trial of Nations.
2008
Outdoor World Champion.
Indoor World Champion.
Champion of the Trial of Nations.
Spanish Indoor Trial Champion.
2009
Outdoor Trial World Champion
Indoor Trial World Champion
Spanish Outdoor Trial Champion
Spanish Indoor Trial Champion
2010
Indoor Trial World Champion
Outdoor Trial World Champion
Spanish Trial Champion
World Team Champion.
2011
Indoor Trial World Champion
Outdoor Trial World Champion
Spanish Trial Champion
World Team Champion.
2012
Indoor Trial World Champion
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