Repsol Honda Trial Team open TrialGP season with one-two in Japan
Toni Bou takes victory in the outdoor series and Gabriel Marcelli places second.
Saturday saw a great start to TrialGP World Championship season for the Repsol Honda Team in Motegi, Japan. Reigning World Champion Toni Bou once again demonstrated his great talent by taking the first victory of the year in the outdoor series, whilst Gabriel Marcelli took second at the home of Honda.
From the first lap, Bou was the frontrunner, making few mistakes and picking up just 13 penalty points on the 12 zones. On the second lap, the Repsol Honda rider showed his dominance by incurring just a single penalty point, earning him the first victory of the 2024 season. In his career, Bou has 20 wins at Motegi.
It was also a good day for Marcelli. The young Montesa Cota 4RT rider, who has been on the podium at every round of the X-Trial and Spanish Championship series this year, was fighting for the leading positions from the first lap, placing second with 22 points. On Lap 2 he improved in all areas, which helped him maintain second place until the end.
Bou is the leader of the overall standings with 20 points, followed by Marcelli with 17. The second race in Motegi will be held on Sunday from 09:00 local time.
Toni Bou 1
CHAMPIONSHIP: 1ST
“I am very happy with the start of the outdoor season and I want to thank the team for the work they have done. There is always extra pressure at the home of Honda, but I am very happy with the result. The feeling when riding was very good and we had a very good second lap, with only one penalty point. The goal for tomorrow will be to continue in the same way, although it will be difficult because our rivals will make it difficult for us.”
Gabriel Marcelli 38
CHAMPIONSHIP: 2ND
“We have started the TrialGP season in the best way with this second position. I am very happy with the work done by the team and with the feeling I had during the day, which was very good. I made some mistakes on the second lap, but even with that, I am very satisfied. Tomorrow I hope to be at the same level -or even better than today. We will try to give that little extra to try to finish the weekend here on a high note.”
Takahisa Fujinami
Team Manager
“Today was incredible. We have achieved a great result at the home of Honda and I want to thank the team for their great job. The objective was to get a first and second position and we achieved it. Toni had a great race, with an almost perfect second lap. Gabri once again demonstrated his high level with another podium. Tomorrow we hope to get first and second place again. I want to thank Honda, HRC and the sponsors for their great support because without them this would not be possible.”
