Toni Bou Extends Lead In Britain

Toni Bou put in a noteworthy performance today in a complicated trial, the sixth of the season so far, held in Nord View, Carlisle, a tiny location in the north of England. Conditions were far from perfect after rain complicated the terrain and made the rocks more difficult to manage in various phases of the race. The Repsol Honda Team rider, however, shone throughout, keeping a clean sheet on practically the whole first lap, until finally picking up a mark in the final section. As the first lap drew to a close the Spaniard aboard the Montesa Cota 4RT was already 14 points clear of his adversaries. Going into the second lap, the rider picked up a few additional points, but opened the gap still further on the overall leaderboard. The final lap saw Bou commit two consecutive faults and collect more marks, but this didn’t stop him from notching up his fourth victory of the season.

With today’s win, Toni Bou collects 20 more points and widens the gap over nearest rival Adam Raga to 7 points, with four days racing still to go before the competition ends.

Repsol Honda Team team-mate, Japanese rider Takahisa Fujinami finished the day in fifth position after an ongoing battle for fourth place. ‘Fujigas’ holds on to fifth overall place in the World Trial Championship overall standings.

Sunday, tomorrow sees the second and final day of the British Trial Grand Prix. The riders can once again look forward to three laps of the course with 12 sections in each.

	I got off to a great start in the race, and only managed to pick up one mark in the final section. On the second lap I conceded a few points and in the third I made two faults, because I was trying to get around without collecting any marks at all, but it didn’t turn out that way. Maybe I was just taking too many risks. It’s been a very positive day, as I have opened the gap more and I’m really pleased with the victory.   I should imagine that the sections will be a bit easier tomorrow, but we’ll have to keep battling. This win is an important one for me and for the team.
	I think that I rode the last lap pretty well but it was a shame that I had made mistakes on the first two. Too many errors. I thought I could finish in fourth place, but I missed it by a point. I was doing quite well during the race, I felt confident, but I slipped up too much. I started to recuperate in the final part of the race but by then it was too late. I hope to be able to make up for it tomorrow.