Toni Bou's the boss as DL12 Indoor Trial impresses
By Team TMX on 15th Jan 24
Repsol Honda’s Toni Bou dominated the 2024 DL12 Indoor Trial as he put on a motorcycle trials masterclass in front of an enthusiastic and, near as damn it, sold-out crowd inside Sheffield’s Utilita Arena. The 34-time world champion managed a feet-up performance in the qualifying heat – his scorecard only sullied by a defeat in the head-to-head races – and then went on to show everyone who the King of Sheffield is with a fantastic performance that saw him claim victory with ease. Not that it was easy…
“It feels super-good to win here again because last year I made a big mistake and got injured,” said Bou after recording his 14th Sheffield victory. “This event is always very special – I won for the first time here in 2006 and the crowd is always super-loud. It is amazing to be here.”
The evening started with a series of dual-lane races across a cunningly laid-out set of Michelin tyres. The pairings were drawn by ballot with defending DL12 Indoor champion Adam Raga, who was making his Sherco debut, defeating Trial2 World Champion Billy Green (Scorpa) ahead of Gabriel Marcelli (Repsol Honda) edging local hero Harry Hemingway (Beta), Bou beating compatriot Jaime Busto (GASGAS) and Toby Martyn (Montesa) getting the better of last-minute substitute Miquel Gelabert (Vertigo).
Then it was down to the proper business with the riders taking it turns to tackle the six stunning sections. Each rider had eight minutes to complete the entire course with the overall time acting as a tie-breaker if needed.
The six sections were tough and technical and Billy Green – who was making his Sheffield debut – showed early promise in the S3/Tru7Group wood stacks and the giant Hope cranks and hubs before a string of maximums put him out of contention. Hemingway also suffered, as did Gelabert who was a late replacement for Matteo Grattarola.
Martyn escaped with a single mark on the Red Bull cages before recording a confident clean on the Rock Oil rocks, but maximums on the massive Inch Perfect pipes and Honda Hill put him on a total of 17.
With Raga scoring 13 and Marcelli and Busto both dropping six marks, Bou then stepped up with a sensational clean lap with defeat at the hands of Busto in the night’s second race down and up the six barrels set into Honda Hill costing him his sole mark in the heat.
With the scores reset to zero the all-Spanish Final was fought out between Bou, Busto, Marcelli and Raga with Raga losing out to Marcelli and Bou blitzing Busto in the races over the Michelin tyres.
With the sections ridden in reverse, Raga and Bou claimed an early advantage with cleans in the opener as Marcelli and Busto both failed to make it up the opening wood stack step.
Bou and Busto produced the sole clean rides in section two, but the one-minute time limit was tight and only Bou made it through on time before he moved into a comfortable lead with his incredible form across the Red Bull cages.
Marcelli then defeated Raga in the barrel race on Honda Hill while Busto – following a restart – pulled a point back on Bou but the writing was on the wall.
With three sections remaining Bou led on two, eight clear of Raga and 11 ahead of Busto and Marcelli. Bou and Busto then went clean on the Rock Oil rocks where Raga added two to his score and Marcelli recorded a maximum and when all four failed to negotiate the slick pipes of section five Bou’s victory was assured.
All four cleaned Honda Hill at their final attempt which left Raga one mark clear of Busto and Marcelli fourth, a further five off the podium.
“I’m really, really pleased,” said event co-promoter Dougie Lampkin. “Obviously, you never know just how it’s going to play out. The pipes turned out a bit harder than I thought tonight, but I’m very happy. The level of the top three was just unbelievable, and Toni was amazing from the first moment – he laid down a marker and that was it, he was gone.”
Tickets for the third coming of the DL12 Indoor Trial at the Utilita Arena Sheffield on Saturday, January 18, 2025, will be on sale soon – keep an eye on dl12indoortrial.co.uk for more details.
DL12 Indoor Trial 2024 Results
Heat
| 1 | Toni Bou | 1 |
| 2 | Jaime Busto | 6 |
| 3 | Gabriel Marcelli | 6 |
| 4 | Adam Raga | 13 |
| 5 | Toby Martyn | 17 |
| 6 | Miquel Gelabert | 22 |
| 7 | Harry Hemingway | 23 |
| 8 | Billy Green | 26 |
Final
| 1 | Toni Bou | 7 |
| 2 | Adam Raga | 17 |
| 3 | Jaime Busto | 18 |
| 4 | Gabriel Marcelli | 23 |
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