Arteixo hosted the first Outdoor World Championship race of the year, in which the Repsol Honda Trial Team riders were able to put in a great performance.
Toni Bou took second place after an intense fight against his rivals and Gabriel Marcelli rounded off the podium in Arteixo.
Reigning World Champion Bou began his title defense in Galicia with second place, having picked up penalty points on Zones 10 and 11. On the second lap, the Repsol Honda Trial Team rider remained consistent during the 12 zones and earned second place. With this result, he is in second place in the standings.
Marcelli made a great start with 4 consecutive zeros that kept him in third place. On the second lap, he was able to maintain his position and finally managed to place third in the opening round of the TrialGP season. Thanks to this result, Marcelli is in the Top 3 overall.
The second day of the Spanish TrialGP will be held in Arteixo tomorrow.
Toni Bou #1
“A second place that is quite good for the championship. We made some mistakes that were almost impossible to recover from, but we held up well. When you don't win, taking second place is important, so I'm happy. I had some discomfort in my arm during the second lap. Tomorrow the objective will be the same: To go out and fight for victory and be at the top.”
Gabriel Marcelli #38
"I'm very happy. I think the bike was 10/10 and the team were too. Starting the outdoor season with a third place is a very positive result. It was a simple trial round, and this means that we cannot afford to make mistakes. Tomorrow we will have to push and I will try to do my best to get on the podium again -and move up some positions in the race.”
Takahisa Fujinami - Team Manager
“Overall, the day has gone quite well. Although Toni achieved a good result, it was not what he was looking for, since he always wants to win. We had some quite easy sections, which meant that the mistakes made had a bigger impact and the riders were not able to recover. In addition, Toni had discomfort in his arm throughout the second lap. Despite everything, I am confident that tomorrow he will be fighting for the victory. As for Gabri, we are very happy with him. Starting off with a podium was our objective and tomorrow he will try to be higher in the standings and look for the win."