The fifth round of the TrialGP World Championship moves on to Tong, Great Britain this weekend. Repsol Honda Team, holding firm in top positions, will be looking to consolidate their advantage and even increase the distance over adversaries.
Repsol Honda Team are currently commanding the overall leader board with Bou leading, Jaime Busto in third place and Takahisa Fujinami fourth, although equal on points with his team-mate.
The TrialGP World Championship arrives at its halfway point with current champion Toni Bou looking firmly on course to retake the title. Tong could prove an opportunity to either reinforce his leadership or strengthen his grip in the rankings even more. The Repsol Honda Team rider with the number one emblazoned on his chest has a thirteen-point advantage over nearest second-placed rival Adam Raga after victories in Spain, Japan and France.
Takahisa Fujinami’s British mission will be to repeat the podium place picked up in the first of the two trials disputed on home-soil. The English terrain could well suit the Japanese rider’s style and he arrives in the U.K. hungry for a result and brimming with confidence. It certainly won’t be an easy task, not least with the form of his Repsol Honda Team compadre Jaime Busto. The Basque rider after frequently having narrowly missed the rostrum spot, has recently been uncorking the champagne on the steps with the big guns with two consecutive podium finishes. Busto may be sitting in third overall, but he is fiercely determined to improve on the position.
In the constructor’s championship, Montesa occupies top spot with a 37-point advantage over the nearest rival.
Montesa | 182 |
TRRS | 145 |
Gas Gas | 120 |
Beta | 112 |
Vertigo | 109 |
Scorpa | 32 |
ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE TRIALGP GREAT BRITAIN
- The Trial World Championship returns to the country where the sport was born over a century ago. 37 editions of the United Kingdom Trial have been contested in the British Isles, with the event held in Scotland, England, Isle of Man and Wales. The Park Wood Off Road Centre in the town of Tong will again host the event after the site premiered as a top-flight venue last year.
- Toni Bou (with 14 victories) is the most successful rider in the UK. Behind him, is Dougie Lampkin (11) with 5 wins for Montesa. Takahisa Fujinami has clinched two wins in the British Isles. Despite this, the Japanese rider of the Repsol Honda Team is the one who has picked up the most points, 344, in all participations in the United Kingdom, closely followed by the 334 of Bou in second place.
- The race course in the Parkwood Off Road Centre is the shortest in the whole championship with a total of 2.5 kilometres with all fifteen sections concentrated into this distance.
- TrialGP Great Britain Timetable:
Friday
15:00 Inspection of zones
Saturday
10:30 to 11:00 Scrutineering
11:00 a.m. to 1 p.m. Free training
12:15 a.m. 12:45 Qualifying training
14:45 Autograph signing
3:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. Qualifying round
Sunday
09:00 First rider start
12:45 End of first lap
12:05 Start of second lap
15:20 End of race
15:45 Podium ceremony
· Toni Bou Stats
93 Wins in World Championship
190 GP participations
136 podiums
3013 points
· Takahisa Fujinami Stats
33 Wins in World Championship
316 GP participations
159 podiums
4294 points
· Jaime Busto Stats
37 GP participations
2 podiums
411 points
Toni Bou
The trial in the U.K. signals the second part of the season, which has been very good for us so far. But we can’t get complacent as the rivals are pushing hard this year as we saw in Andorra. The work that we did in the winter was good but we have to stay very focused in each trial and not make mistakes. That’s the only way that we can achieve our goal this season.
Takahisa Fujinami
We arrive at what will be one of the most interesting trials of the year after the one in Motegi. I am going to fight for a podium place in this trial because I think that the course could suit me. As always Fujigas will go all out and I’ll be thinking about the championship toom which is very hotly-disputed this year. It’s not only Fajardo, Cabestany… now we’ve got Jaime to contend with and that makes it all that much more interesting.
Jaime Busto
I don’t want to think that I’m on form, but rather that all the work that I’ve done until now is starting to bear fruits. I’m very happy and motivated and I hope to get some good results like the ones in the last few trials. I’m third overall, yeah, but a bad trial can make you drop various positions because it’s very equal. I hope that doesn’t happen….
Location Information
3 Tong Ln, Tong, Bradford BD4 0RR, Reino Unido - View in Google Maps
Records
Podium 2017 | Toni Bou - Takahisa Fujinami - Adam Raga |
Podium 2016 -day2- | Toni Bou - Adam Raga - Albert Cabestany |
Podium 2016 -day1- | Toni Bou - James Dabill - Adam Raga |