On The Pegs August 2018 - Volume 3 - Issue 8 | Page 112

On The Pegs
P 112
TAKAHISA FUJINAMI
The all-conquering Toni Bou - Repsol Honda continued his march towards a
twelfth-straight outdoor World title with a close-fought win at today’s TrialGP
France - round five of the 2018 FIM Trial World Championship - at the Alpine ski
resort of Auron.
The Spanish superstar was pushed hard by his compatriot Jeroni Fajardo - Gas
Gas for most of the Trial before pulling clear in the closing stages. The victory,
his fourth of the season, ties him with legendary Belgian motocross racer Stefan
Everts on a total of one-hundred-and-one Grand Prix wins.
“I feel incredible because it was a nice fight with Jeroni who was riding amazing
today,” says Bou. “It was very close after the first lap, but I finally took the victory
with a clean in section twelve. It is very important for me and very important for
the championship.”
Despite an early threat of rain that would have dramatically altered the com-
plexion of the Trial, the two laps of fifteen sections were tackled in sunny condi-
tions with the majority of hazards split between rounded boulders in a dry river-
bed and more angular rocks on the side of a steep, wooded hill.
It was Fajardo who took an early lead when Bou lost a mark on section four, but