This year`s World Indoor and Outdoor Trial Champion, Toni Bou from Spain, has an exciting challenge ahead of him this weekend: he will change two wheels for four to drive in the Supercopa SEAT León. The Repsol rider, a specialist in one of the slowest motorbike sports, trial, is going to tackle a race in which speed is the priority for the first time. And he will have to learn quickly how to handle himself on the circuit, at the wheel of a car with a power of 300bhp.
This is a great chance for Bou to learn about a competition that is exactly the opposite to what he is used to. Nevertheless, he will do so in the best possible conditions: as part of the Baporo team substituting the clear leader of the championship, the Spaniard José Manuel Pérez Aicart. After his first contact with the SEAT León at the circuit of Calafat, today was the acid test with the first two rounds of free training.
The Repsol driver started to get to know the references for accelerating and braking at the demanding track of Montmeló. He was able to find out the best lines so as set good lap times thanks to the help he got from his team. The objective for him, apart from having fun and learning, will be to obtain the minimum classification time during training tomorrow morning, and so classify for the first race that will take place at 17.00.
The next objective for the Repsol rider, this time in his speciality trial, will be next week on the Isle of Man, in the Trial of Nations.
Toni Bou:
Driving one of these cars is great fun. This is a chance that has been given to me and I am looking forward to taking advantage of it and enjoying myself as much as possible. Of course, the first thing to learn is how to drive well, since it is only the second time that I have driven at a circuit, and what is more in a car of this type. In the first round of training this morning I learnt a lot, although all the other cars overtook me on either side. Bit by bit I gradually set better times although it is very complicated as there are a lot of drivers here with a lot of experience and I did not even know the circuit. The impression many times is of driving very fast, but it is because you are sliding around a lot. However it is when you go slower that the car does not go forward, because the wheels are spinning.
