End of the World for Kiaran Touly
By John Dickinson on 26th Feb 20
World Championship trials was delivered a blow recently when reigning World 125cc Champion, French rider Kiaran Touly announced, via social media, that he was being forced to retire from the sport.
The reason given was simple, a lack of funding from sponsors or interest from any factory.
Kiaran thanks everyone who had helped him achieve his early goals and hinted that he may move to another branch of motorcycle sport to further his sporting career.
So, at the age of just 19, the Trials World Championship has lost not just a promising young rider and with an ever-ageing elite in Trial GP this is surely something the series can ill afford but a recently-crowned World Champion!
The loss of the young Frenchman ought to be a wake-up call to those in charge of the World Championship.
For a long time, it has been obvious that the events bear ZERO relationship to what the majority of us understand as motorcycle trials and there is less and less interest from ordinary trials riders in the TWC/ TrialGP.
It begs the question, What is the point of the Trial World Championship? Is it to sell trials motorcycles? Is it to promote the sport? Is it to encourage younger riders?
Yes, the manufacturers pour money into their teams but how do they quantify the result of their spending? An educated guess would say that only Repsol Honda (Montesa) can justify splashing the cash.
In Honda terms the cost of the trials effort wouldnt buy the lunches for their MotoGP team, so the point in their case is effectively irrelevant. In simple terms, TrialGP needs to be made far less of a circus act and far more relevant to trials as practised by the Joe Schmos who actually BUY the trials bikes.
Do the manufacturers really believe that when someone sees Toni Bou ride up a ridiculous undercut eight-foot step half-way up a mountain they then rush out to buy a trials bike?
The late Neil Crosswaite once likened it very much to a circus. He said, People pay money to watch a lion tamer (or they did in a pre PC world) but no one goes out and buys a lion!
The loss of Kiaran Touly might not be earth-shattering in its own right but if you commit to becoming 125 World Champion and there is no hope of a ride after you achieve the goal where is the incentive for others to try?
In England at least, trials continues as a great sport despite the TWC, not because of it.
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