The second day of the TrialGP of Spain saw Toni Bou earn his first victory of the season in the outdoor discipline, moving joint top of the overall standings. Gabriel Marcelli had an intense fight over the course of the two laps, and finished fourth, just two points off third place.
Bou was to improve his feeling on the second day, and on his opening lap he incurred just 8 penalty points. Things tightened up on the final sections of the second lap, but the Repsol Honda Trial Team rider took the victory and leaves Arteixo joint top of the standings.
Marcelli rounded off the Top 3 on the first lap after some very close final sections. On the second lap he made some mistakes on Zones 9 and 10 that brought him down to fourth position, just two points behind third place, missing out on the podium in Arteixo. He ends the first round of the TrialGP World Championship joint third overall.
The next round of the series takes place this coming week in Gouveia, Portugal.
Toni Bou #1
I'm very happy with the weekend and with the victory. In today's race I found felt better. I still have some discomfort in my arm, but we were able to fight at an impressive level. It is a victory that is very valuable, because our rivals didn't make it easy at all. Now it's time to recover well after the weekend. We are tied on points with Jaime overall and we have seen that he is at a very high level, and both races have been very close. We will have to be strong in Portugal, but the first thing now is to recover and get back to 100% fitness.”
Gabriel Marcelli #38
"Today didn't go as well as yesterday. I think I was feeling pretty good with the bike, but there were a couple of zones that affected the final result of the race a lot. In any case, we have fourth place, points for the championship and a good feeling throughout the weekend. We face the next race with great enthusiasm. In Portugal we have two new opportunities to get back onto the podium and fight for a victory.”
Takahisa Fujinami - Team Manager
I'm very happy about Toni's victory. On Sunday he had more pressure because he wanted to win, no matter what. The sections were modified to be a little more difficult, but it hasn't affected the riders much because they have both been up there fighting for the podium. This victory is important for the team, as it is a great start to the season. As for Gabri, it is important that he has been fighting for the Top 3, but today a couple of mistakes left him with no chance of getting third place. He had a very good ride from the first lap, so we are still very happy."