Toni Bou leaves the X-Trial World Championship sentenced in Austria

The X-Trial World Champion wins in the last stage and is one step away from securing a new title in Austria

Toni Bou (Repsol Honda Trial Team) took his fifth consecutive victory of the season in a race at Wiener Neustadt that he dominated from the start but struggled in the penultimate section of the final with Jaime Busto (GasGas), Gabriel Marcelli (Repsol Honda Trial Team) and Matteo Grattarola (Beta).

The World Champion, who had been the best in Q1 and Superpole, went into the fifth section with 7 points less than Busto and 8 less than Marcelli, but, while his rivals went to zero, he added a five that caused the 3 to be separated by three points in the last zone in which Bou and Busto added one point each and Marcelli he has been loaded with a five that has dropped him from the fight for second place that has finally gone to Busto, so Bou will have to wait a week to mathematically certify his 19th title of X-Trial World Champion.

Matteo Grattarola, who had been the best in Q2, was ruled out of the podium after passing through the first four zones as he was loaded with two fives. Bou finished with 13 points to Busto’s 15, Marcelli’s 20 and the Italian’s 30.

Jack Peace (Sherco) was on the verge of the Final being fourth in Q1 and second in Q2. Behind him were Alex Canales (Montesa), Benoit Bincaz (Sherco) and Marco Mempör (TRRS), the local rider who today competed in his second World Championship round at home.

Toni Bou (1st): “I added my fifth consecutive victory in a final that I had practically in my pocket from the fourth zone, but the mistake I made in the fifth, perhaps due to overconfidence, made the final outcome uncertain. The truth is that we have done a very good job again and this is the most important thing. The nineteenth title will have to wait a few days although the important thing is to continue accumulating victories.”

Jaime Busto (2nd): “It was a final in which I defended my chances of winning until the last zone and the truth is that I felt good from Q1. I was close to achieving my second consecutive victory here but the balance I make of the race is positive.”

Gabriel Marcelli (3rd): “I’m happy with the third place that perhaps leaves a better taste in my mouth than others I’ve been able to obtain so far. I even had a chance to fight for the victory and I rode consistently from the beginning but I also made some mistakes that I shouldn’t make in the final.”

The seventh round of the season will be held on March 22 in Cahors.