Bou second and Marcelli fourth on Day 2 of Japanese TrialGP
The 32-time World Champion is joint-leader of the standings, with Marcelli joint-third.
The second day of the TrialGP World Championship in Japan saw a change of conditions compared to the previous day. A lack of rain and an increase in temperatures have left the terrain completely dry. The Repsol Honda Trial Team riders managed to adapt to the situation and get good results.
The first lap was very tight from the start for Toni Bou, who was fighting at the front and managed to finish in second place. On Lap 2 he was able to improve his results and be much more consistent on every zone. The Repsol Honda Trial Team rider finished the day tied on 33 points with Jaime Busto and finally, due to time, was awarded second place.
Gabriel Marcelli had a difficult first lap. The mistakes he made situated him in sixth position, away from the fight for the podium. On the second lap he managed to recover and improve on the zones where he had previously failed. Competing to get onto the rostrum, he placed fourth, just three points behind Adam Raga ahead of him.
Bou is joint-leader of the series with Jaime Busto. Marcelli is joint-third with Adam Raga. The next challenge for the Repsol Honda Trial Team riders will be on Friday, June 9th, at the San Marino TrialGP.
Toni Bou 1
CHAMPIONSHIP: 2ND
“It was a difficult day for us, with many problems on the first lap. We picked up two fives for stopping, made many mistakes and I even thought that we would have to fight for second position. 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. Jaime performed at a high level today and when you make so many mistakes you can’t win. 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 38
CHAMPIONSHIP: 4TH
“Today things didn’t turn out as we would have liked. We achieved a fourth place that has a slightly bittersweet taste. 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. We take home two fourth positions from the weekend that were not what we were looking for. 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.”
Takahisa Fujinami
Team Manager
“Today I didn’t expect so many fives from Toni on the first lap and I think it was because of the non stop system, which is very difficult to control. Although you accept the decision it is very hard psychologically for the rider. In the second section he was able to fight for the victory against Jaime, because he had two five in the last sections, but finally he was second by only 30 seconds. We have to accept it and fight in the next race. Regarding Gabri, he was very close to the podium today, more than yesterday. It was a pity the first lap because he made a lot of mistakes but I’m still happy with the mentality he has this year, he has the mentality to always be on the podium and that’s important”.
