The Repsol Honda Team takes a win and a second place at Motegi. Gabriel Marcelli is fourth in both days.
The Repsol Honda Team competed in the third round of the TrialGP season in Motegi, Japan, back on the calendar after three years away. Toni Bou earned a win on Saturday and was only denied a double on Sunday due to time, whilst Gabriel Marcelli finished both days in fourth position and very close to the podium.
On tricky terrain due to rain Bou made some mistakes on the first lap on Saturday, and was relegated to third. With no margin for error, the 32-time World Champion had a much stronger second lap, which saw him clinch victory on day one. On Sunday he also had to fight back on the second lap, finally placing level on points with the eventual winner and missing out on victory due to time taken.
Marcelli was more consistent during the first day of competition. However, he was close to the podium and completed both of the two laps in fourth position. On Sunday, Marcelli made several mistakes on the first lap, finishing sixth, but climbed back to fourth and was only two points from the podium.
Bou is joint-leader of the series with 111 points. Gabriel Marcelli is joint-third with 84 points.
The next round will be held from June 9-11th in Baldasserrona, San Marino.
Toni Bou:
This race is always special because it is the home of Honda and winning in Japan is very important to us. Yesterday, the sections were difficult and we almost failed, but in the second lap the areas dried up a bit and the level of difficulty dropped. Happy with yesterday’s result. Today, it was a difficult day for us, with many problems on the first lap. We picked up two fives for stopping, making many mistakes. At the end of the second lap we had the opportunity to challenge for the victory and we were tied, but we were second due to time. In the next race I have to be very focused because the title battle is very close, not make mistakes and get back to our best.
Gabriel Marcelli:
Things didn’t go as I would have liked this weekend. We finished fourth on both days. The wet is perhaps not the best for me, but with the dried areas I did better. Today, I had a very bad first lap, in which I made a lot of mistakes, but luckily I was able to recover a lot on what I consider to be a good second lap. The positive is that we are still in the battle for the Top 3 in the championship and we have learned a lot from this weekend. Everyone has treated us very well here and the Japanese fans made me feel very well supported.
