Another success for the Repsol rider, who achieved a 21 points advantage at the top of the FIM X-Trial World Championship. Fujinami was fourth.
Toni Bou is still unbeaten in the beginning of the season after achieving yesterday another victory at the Marseille Indoor Trial, third round of the FIM X-Trial World Championship. Those three wins —Strasbourg, Geneva and Marseille— consolidate the Repsol rider as leader of the overall classification, with a 21-point advantage over his two closest rivals, when the championship has not yet reached its halfway point.
The current champion started this third round with a crushing victory in the qualifying session held on Friday, where he received 6 points. He was leader again in the semi-final, with just one point, showing his most aggressive face in the long zones, in order to avoid any penalty for excess of time. Despite receiving a five in the firs obstacle, the Repsol rider secured another victory, showing his great form.
His team mate in the Repsol Montesa Honda Team, Takahisa Fujinami was again able to reach the final, after finishing fifth inn the qualifying (23 points) and pass the semi-final with 15. The Japanese rider was left out of the fight for the top positions at the beginning of the final session, due to a huge crash in the parallel race against his team mate and the pain in the shoulder affected him in the rest of the areas. The Repsol rider took the fourth position overall, 9 points behind the second and third, who are tied with 39 points each.
The FIM X-Trial World Championship will resume next March 3rd with the fourth round that will take place in Madrid. Before that, next week in Barcelona one of the classic rounds of the season will be held, the Barcelona Indoor Trial, that this year is not part of the World Championship.
Toni Bou,
“The zones were very long and they required not only a good technique, but also to be fast to finish them within the allowed time. I decided to risk and that served me to finish the semi-final with six points less than the second. I didn’t change my approach for the final, which I started with 5 points in the first obstacle for being to eager. I did a good race and again I felt very good on the bike, very confident. I am in good form, I enjoy it a lot and each win motivates me to keep fighting “.
Takahisa Fujinami,
“For me it was very important to be again in the final and I achieved it after a very close semi-final. Pity I crashed in the parallel race with Toni [Bou]. I wanted to beat him, as any other rival in an identical situation, but I fell and I hit my shoulder hard. Under those conditions and receiving a penalty of five points in the first individual zone, I could not get anything better”.
