Bou wins, Abellan finds her form and Hemingway stays clean on day two of TrialGP of Germany
It was a tense day of twists, turns and drama – plus the sport’s ultimate achievement of a clean scorecard – as competitors in the 2024 Hertz FIM Trial World Championship fired back into action on day two of the TrialGP of Germany at Neunkirchen.
- Toni Bou beats Jaime Busto to extend TrialGP lead in Germany
- Berta Abellan scores her first TrialGP Women win of the season
- Jack Peace doubles up in Trial2, George Hemingway stays clean in Trial3 and Martina Brandani dominates FIM Women’s Trial2 World Cup
In the premier TrialGP class defending champion Toni Bou (Montesa) eased to another victory – his seventh from eight starts – as he strengthened his claim on an unparalleled eighteenth consecutive title while reigning TrialGP Women champion Emma Bristow (Sherco) from Britain slipped to third behind Berta Abellan (Scorpa) and Andrea Sofia Rabino (Beta).
In Trial2 Britain’s Jack Peace (Sherco) completed a German double and in the process strengthened his hold on the class lead while his sixteen-year-old compatriot George Hemingway (Beta) put in an incredible faultless performance to maintain his unbeaten run in Trial3 and Martina Brandani (Sherco) made it two wins from two starts in the FIM Women’s Trial2 World Cup.
Fears that the rain that appeared during the closing stages of yesterday’s second lap would fall heavily overnight did not materialise so sections – a few of which were stiffened up for day two – stayed dry, although the loose soil on many of the steep, testing banks and climbs meant grip was still at a premium.
As we’re so accustomed to seeing, Spanish superstar Bou set the early pace, but after matching him section-for-section on yesterday’s second lap Jaime Busto (GASGAS) kept the pressure firmly on from the start and with the entire field again defeated by the triple step of section eleven, Bou’s total of nine gave him a slim two-mark advantage over his younger rival at the halfway mark.
Demonstrating the dominance of the leading pair, after the first lap it was Italy’s Matteo Grattarola (Beta)in third a further ten marks behind with Gabriel Marcelli (Montesa) fourth on twenty-two before a six-mark gap to Jorge Casales (TRRS) in fifth.
A maximum on the rocky climb of section four that he had cleaned at his first attempt put Busto on the back foot early on lap two and he had to settle for another second-placed finish as Bou ended the day on fourteen with an eleven-mark winning advantage.
“It has been a super weekend for us,” said Bou. “Today I was riding really good with just some little mistakes in section eleven and I’m super-happy with the result.”
Marcelli found his groove on lap two, shaving ten marks off his first-lap total to end the day a clear third with Grattarola dropping to fourth on forty-three as Casales – a podium finisher yesterday – came home in fifth on fifty.
After winning the opening three days of competition in the TrialGP Women class, Bristow went off the boil on day two in Neunkirchen and was third at the end of the day as Spain’s Abellan found her form to take her first win at this level since the opening round of 2023.
Tied with Italy’s Rabino on seven after the first lap, Abellan’s years of experience came into play during the second half of the Trial as she added just two more to her score, giving herself an eventual winning margin of six.
“I’m really, really happy,” said Abellan. “My first win this season has taken a lot of work so for me today has been perfect.”
Halfway around the second lap Bristow was facing the very real possibility of finishing off the podium for the first time since the final round of 2012 as she trailed Naomi Monnier (Montesa), but as the French rider faltered in the closing stages Bristow kept her cool to move into third on a total of seventeen to maintain a ten-point series lead.
A strong second on Saturday, Monnier’s total of twenty-four gave her fourth, seven clear of fifth-placed Alice Minta (Scorpa) from Britain.
During this year’s early rounds Trial2 had been characterised by inconsistent results that produced four different winners from the first four days, but with his third win in a row Peace has now seized control of the class.
The twenty-four-year-old British national champion’s first lap of six gave him a slim one-mark lead over Spain’s Gerard Trueba (Beta) at the halfway mark with Alex Canales (TRRS) holding third on ten, one ahead of electric-powered Sondre Haga (GASGAS).
With the pressure firmly on, Peace then produced some of the best form of his career to add just two more to his total to comfortably complete his first-ever double win at this level. Defending champion Billy Green (Scorpa) climbed to second on twenty-one – one clear of a tie for third won by Canales from Arnau Farrè (Sherco) – with Trueba slipping to fifth on twenty-three as Haga fell back to tenth on thirty-five.
“It’s been a great weekend and it is so nice to get the double win,” said Peace. “I rode really well again today and felt very relaxed.”
In Trial3 Hemingway claimed his sixth consecutive win with a sensational clean ride to continue the dominant defence of his crown and his fellow British rider Euan Sim (Beta), in his debut season in the class, dropped just five for second as he consolidated his position as Hemingway’s main challenger.
“I’m absolutely buzzing with the result,” said Hemingway. “That’s probably my first clean Trial ever and to do it here at this level feels amazing.”
Johannes Heidel (Beta) rewarded the home crowd’s support with a fighting third – his best finish of the season – on eight.
After getting her FIM Women’s Trial2 World Cup campaign off to a winning start yesterday, Italy’s Brandani once again emerged on top of this competitive class with her total of twenty-one giving her a nine-mark cushion ahead of last year’s fourth-ranked rider Seline Meling (Beta) from Norway with Germany’s Linda Weber (TRRS) taking the final step on the podium on thirty-two.
“The first lap did not go quite as planned,” said Brandani, “but I managed to recover and eventually bring it home.”
FULL RESULTS HERE
