TONI BOU - MY RIDE, MY LIFE
POSTED: 08/03/2023
The world’s most successful motorcycle rider doesn’t compete in the 350kmh/220mph world of MotoGP but in the slower-moving world of TrialGP and X-Trial, where the extraordinary riding talent of top riders allows them to achieve mind-boggling feats of machine control.
Repsol Honda Team trial ace Toni Bou has won no fewer than 29 World Championships, 21 more than MotoGP stablemate Marc Márquez. This makes the 35-years-old Spaniard the most successful rider across all disciplines in the history of motorcycle sport.
“The most important part of my success is that I enjoy riding a lot,” says the much-decorated Spaniard. “So I always have the motivation to train and this is what makes me want to keep progressing at my age.
“I had been asking for a bike for a long time – although I was very small I was already very clear in my mind!”
Bou made his World Championship debut in Northern Ireland in the spring of 2003 and won his first world round in Galicia, Spain, three years later.
His record since then is jaw-dropping to behold: victory in the outdoor TrialGP World Championship in 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2021. That’s 15 consecutive titles and he won the latest despite breaking a leg during training, less than a month before the first event.
And that’s not all. Bou has also been utterly dominant in the indoor X-Trial World Championship, doubling his title successes with victory in 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020. The 2021 indoor series has yet to be completed, so Bou could be a 30-times World Champion by Christmas!
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