Just a year ago, La Vanguardia proposed to Toni Bou to ride the closest thing to heaven: getting on his motorcycle (without starting it, of course) in Montserrat, an iconic and majestic mountain of rugged conglomerate in the heart of Catalonia. And there, in a special environment, filled with childhood memories, the Piera rider confessed: he was very, very tempted to round out his trial career with a “40 in 40”: to reach four decades of age with his fortieth world title.
That would be, at the pace he had then (16 years in a row, winning two World Cups per season), in the fall of 2026. Now he is on his 34th world title, with the one he won this Saturday in Madrid (and the 33rd in September , in France).
It was his 17th indoor trial world crown (X-Trial), achieved at the Madrid Arena; that is, 17 consecutive years winning the indoor championship, but also outdoors. All since 2007, when he signed for Montesa-Honda with Repsol. A binomial that has been indestructible.
Bou arrived at the Madrid Arena as leader of the X-Trial World Championship with a 25-point lead over his former teammate and greatest rival Jaime Busto (Gas Gas), the only one who could question his reign. To do this, the Biscayan had to win in Madrid and for Bou to not go beyond sixth place. A very unlikely combination: the Repsol Montesa rider had won 4 of the 5 previous races and was second in the one he did not win (in Wiener Neustadt)...
So in Madrid (and with the last race on the calendar remaining, in Vendée, France), Bou finished off with an authoritative victory, fifth of the course. In the first round he was already leading with a single penalty point and in the second he scored 5, although he already knew that he would be champion because Busto could not enter the final (he was 4th, with 8 penalties). Second in Madrid was Toby Martyn (Montesa) and third, Gabriel Marcelli (Montesa), both with 11 penalty points.
Now, at 37 (years old) and 34 (titles), he can continue thinking about 40.
–It looks very good: 40 with 40 would be incredible. It would be crazy. That would mean since she was 20, winning all the possible titles every year... she is an animal. She's not my priority target, but I'll go for it. Definitely, I'll try it if I'm fit. Of course she crosses my mind...”, the Piera driver, the most successful motor sportsman, confessed to this newspaper.
After winning his 17th indoor world title, Toni Bou expressed his happiness and satisfaction with his new success. "I'm super happy with tonight. In Madrid, at Repsol's house, it was important for us to get the title. Winning by winning is the best, although the important thing is always getting the title. We started the final very well in zone 1 , but we had a mistake in zone 2 and it made our lives very complicated. The zone where the differences were marked was zone 4, because it was very difficult to overcome that obstacle, but I am very happy to have achieved it and to have tied with Gabri [ Marcelli]. Winning in the last zone was amazing."
