Toni Bou left his rivals powerless to resist at the Navarra Arena, while Jaime Busto tipped the battle for second overall in his favour
The second staging of X-Trial Pamplona saw 18-times World Champion Toni Bou (Repsol Honda Trial Team) make amends for his shock defeat at X-Trial Tallinn three weeks ago with a dominant victory. Here, Bou sealed his 100th career podium with his sixth win in seven Rounds of the now completed 2024 season.
Jaime Busto (Gas Gas), meanwhile, took the silver medal when Gabriel Marcelli (Repsol Honda Trial Team) saw his run of nine consecutive podium finishes come to an end with an error-strewn first run that left him sixth.
In the Final, Busto’s hopes of claiming back-to-back victories were ended with an error in Section Four, while Benoit Bincaz (Sherco) made it through the same with two marks to claim a career-best second place.
Miquel Gelabert (Vertigo) finished fourth, just one mark behind the podium spots after a two-mark second run. Adam Raga (Sherco) paid dearly for three dropped marks in Section Three of the opening Round, otherwise he could have finally added his first rostrum finish of the campaign.
In a low-scoring second Round, not even a clean for Gabriel Marcelli was enough to recover from three fiascos in his opening run. The only changes of positions in the second half of qualifying saw Toby Martyn (Montesa) move ahead of Sondre Haga (Gas Gas), but that was insufficient to defend fourth in the world against Bincaz for Martyn, in what was likely his final X-Trial appearance.
Toni Bou (1st): “I arrived here with a real determination to win again after my mistake in Tallinn, and that’s how it was, in a really clear way. I rode at a high level from the start and aside from the failure in Section One of the Final I was able to dominate. It was the perfect way to close another successful season. My 100th podium, considering there are so few Rounds per year, is even more relevant.”
Benoit Bincaz (2nd): “This result is fantastic: the first time I have finished as high as second in a World Championship Round and my second consecutive podium. I think I can say I am finally back after all of the problems I have had since my back injury a few years ago.”
Jaime Busto (3rd): “Truthfully I haven’t had the best of days. The mistake I made in Section Four of the Final relegated me to third. But I have managed to take silver from a very consistent season, only dropping once from the podium places.”
The riders have very little time to recover before the new X-Trial World Championship season gets underway on 21st December with X-Trial Madrid at the Palacio Vistalegre. Tickets are already available at https://xtrialmadrid.com/
