Trials: Team Repsol Honda grab double podium in Madrid

After a ten-year absence from the X-Trial World Championship calendar, Repsol Honda Trial Team once again returned to Madrid, where the third round of the season was held.

Toni Bou claimed yet another X-Trial World Championship victory, making it three wins on the spin. The Catalan Repsol Honda Trial Team rider takes his tally of consecutive wins in the Spanish capital to six, five in the previous venue, the Palacio de Deportes, plus the one in the Madrid Arena. Meanwhile, Gabriel Marcelli managed to find the right sensations and keep a grip on the nerves that he had felt on his debut last week in Chalon-sur-Saône, achieving a dream runner-up spot in his first indoor participation in Madrid.

On this occasion, the Repsol Honda Trial Team duo managed to successfully overcome the opening round – no easy feat – especially in section four where all the riders received the maximum penalty. Marcelli was penalised 13 marks, while Bou tied on 11 points with arch rival Adam Raga, although the Repsol Honda Trial Team rider ended up being the fastest in the first round. In the second round, Toni Bou gave a fine display of technique and dominance, scoring just 7 marks, gaining direct access to the final as the best rider of the second round. Gabriel Marcelli, who suffered a fall in section 4, was fourth, with 14 penalty points, although he likewise managed to qualify for the final after finishing third in the overall standings. In the final, Bou continued his reign in the Spanish capital, marking a difference in the trickiest technical sections while collecting just two penalty marks. In spite of a sore ankle from the fall in the second round, Marcelli showed his determination and potential to seal second spot in Madrid.

With the win at the Madrid Arena, Toni Bou continues to edge away from his rivals in the overall X-Trial World Championship standings, adding a further twenty points for the win plus the two bonus points. Bou currently holds 65 points. Elsewhere, Gabriel Marcelli’s second place today in Madrid sees him jump to sixth place in the overall standings with a total of 16 points.

The next round of the X-Trial World Championship is set for next Sunday, 10 April at the Palau Sant Jordi in Barcelona. It will undoubtedly be a special event for the Repsol Honda Trial Team riders, given that last season Toni Bou won there, scooping his fifteenth indoor title and Gabriel Marcelli gave a magnificent performance that allowed him to climb onto the second step of the podium, similar to today’s result in Madrid.

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