BUSTO FINISHES FOURTH AT X-TRIAL MADRID.
CHALLENGING NIGHT IN THE SPANISH CAPITAL AT PENULTIMATE X-TRIAL EVENT OF 2023.
GASGAS Factory Racing’s Jaime Busto has finished fourth overall at X-Trial Madrid, the penultimate round of the 2023 FIM X-Trial World Championship. Fired up for another podium result, Busto came up just short of a place in the finals despite his solid riding throughout the night. Competing alongside Busto, Sondre Haga returned to indoor action finishing ninth.
As always with indoor trial competition, small margins had a huge impact at the Madrid event. Completing the opening lap with a score of just eight points, Jaime Busto matched the performances of the top three riders, apart from on the difficult section three, where he picked up a costly five points.
On to lap two, and again it was the demanding section three that proved to be the toughest. With all riders scoring five points, it all came down to their performances on the other four sections. And with scores super low for all riders, each and every point scored proved hugely important.
For Busto, a zero-point score in the opening section was followed by a one-point score in section two, a five in section three, and two further one-point scores in sections four and five. Ending the lap on a total of eight points, when added to his lap one score, Busto missed the night’s top-three final by just five points, placing fourth for the night and maintaining his runner-up position in the X-Trial standings.
Returning to X-Trial, Sondre Haga had the unenviable task of being the first rider onto each of the night’s sections. Collecting scores of five points on each section on lap one, he improved his riding but was unable to finish higher than ninth on the night.
Jaime Busto:“It was a tough night for me. Overall, my riding was good, but section three was where I had some troubles – that was the section that kept me out of the final. Small mistakes can have a big impact with indoor trial, and that’s how it was tonight. Of course, I wanted to be on the podium, but tonight fourth was my place. Congrats to Toni on his X-Trial title. There is one round left this year, so I hope I can perform at my best there.”
Sondre Haga:“Indoor trial is really all about small details and tonight I missed something in my riding, especially in the first lap. It’s really frustrating because my training has been going really well. But I made some small mistakes, which you just can’t do in X-Trial. I recovered a little in the second lap. But it wasn’t enough, so it’s been a pretty frustrating night.”
Results – 2023 X-Trial World Championship, Round 6
1. Toni Bou (Montesa) 8 final
2. Gabriel Marcelli (Montesa) 10 final
3. Toby Martyn (Montesa) 17 final
4. Jaime Busto (GASGAS) 16
5. Adam Raga (TRRS) 21
6. Aniol Gelabert (Beta) 26
7. Benoit Bincaz (Sherco) 30
8. Matteo Grattarola (Beta) 34
9. Sondre Haga (GASGAS) 43
2023 X-Trial Championship Standings (after round 6)
1. Toni Bou (Montesa) 122
2. Jaime Busto (GASGAS) 84
3. Gabriel Marcelli (Montesa) 73
4. Adam Raga (TRRS) 55
5. Toby Martyn (Montesa) 36
6. Aniol Gelabert (Beta) 25
Text/Bild: GasGas