Toni Bou (Montesa) tightened his grip on the premier TrialGP class of the 2025 Hertz FIM Trial World Championship after taking both race victories on the opening day of points-scoring competition at round three – the Taisei Rotec TrialGP of Japan – while in the TrialGP Women and Trial2 classes series leaders Berta Abellan (Scorpa) and Harry Hemingway (Beta) both extended their advantages.

  • Toni Bou doubles up at rain-lashed Taisei Rotec TrialGP of Japan
  • Berta Abellan extends her lead in TrialGP Women
  • Harry Hemingway fights back to defend Trial2 advantage

With the majority of sections at the iconic Mobility Resort Motegi plotted on super-steep wooded bankings studded with rocks, the venue can be extremely challenging at the best of times. However, torrential rain made today’s event even tougher as the rich soil turned to mud that was then dragged onto the slick boulders, keeping grip to a minimum and forcing the cancellation of the Power Section at the end of the day.

Heading to Japan with an early series lead after taking victory in seven of the eight races staged so far, Bou – who is aiming to claim an amazing nineteenth consecutive TrialGP title this season – put on a masterclass of wet weather riding with his inch-perfect precision helping him to find traction where none appeared to exist.

A sensational single mark on section two where all his rivals collected maximums gave the thirty-eight-year-old Spaniard an early lead in the day’s opening race and as the downpour continued he eased clear with his total of eighteen on observation and two on time giving him victory by a comfortable sixteen from his compatriot Jaime Busto (GASGAS).

For the entire race Busto had been involved in a fierce fight for second with Gabriel Marcelli (Montesa) and looked to have the upper hand until his younger Spanish rival recorded an incredible clean ride on the imposing section eleven. It was a moment of brilliance that drew cheers from the three-thousand-strong crowd braving the elements and set up a dramatic finish, but when both men collected maximums on the final section Marcelli had to settle for third on forty.

A five-time vice-champion, Abellan was tipped to dominate this year’s TrialGP Women title fight following the retirement of reigning champion Emma Bristow, but she has encountered considerable resistance from Italian rival Andrea Sofia Rabino (Beta) who started the day just seven points adrift.

This advantage was slashed to four points when the eighteen-year-old overcame a maximum on the opening section to win race one from Abellan by six marks before an eight-mark gap to third-placed Alessia Bacchetta (GASGAS) who finished four in front of a tie-break for fourth won by Kaytlyn Adshead (Sherco) from Denisa Pecháčková (TRRS) from the Czech Republic.

Abellan was back in control in race two, overhauling Adshead in the final few sections to finish two ahead of her British rival on a total of thirty-five with Bacchetta third on forty-three. Rabino lost ground in the championship in fourth on forty-five, one mark ahead of American rider Maddie Hoover (GASGAS).

“The first race was not good for me, but the second was much better,” said Abellan. “I hope tomorrow the weather improves.”
Following the opening two rounds the fight for supremacy in the closely-contested Trial2 class had developed into a two-rider battle between Britain’s Harry Hemingway (Beta) and Billy Green (Scorpa), but Arnau Farré (Sherco) had clearly not read the script.

The twenty-six-year-old Spaniard took victory in race one by a single mark from his compatriot Miquel Gelabert (Honda) on the electric machine with forty-six-year-old Japanese legend Kenichi Kuroyama (Yamaha) – a championship contender in the 1990s – taking a very popular third on his electric motorcycle a further two marks adrift.

With Hemingway finishing sixth – one position and one mark ahead of Green – it allowed Gelabert to close on the two championship leaders, but the pair reasserted their dominance in race two with Hemingway’s total of twenty giving him the win by one mark from Green with Gelabert finishing another mark behind in third to record the day’s best overall performance.

“It’s super-nice to be on the top, both for the team and for me,” said Gelabert. “Conditions were very hard today and we struggled a lot, but we got the win.”

Focus now shifts to tomorrow’s concluding day with the action at the Mobility Resort Motegi scheduled to get under way at 9am (local time).

Veteran Italian Matteo Grattarola (Beta) was in podium contention for the first half of the race before dropping back to fourth on forty-six, five clear of Spain’s Alex Canales (Montesa).

With heavy rain still falling the second race became a fight for survival but, as we have seen countless times before, Bou thrives in challenging conditions and despite intense pressure from Busto his total of twenty-eight saw him take his second win of the day by five marks.

“Today has been amazing for us and it is always special to win here,” said Bou. “The conditions have been very difficult, but I am happy with my riding and happy with victory.”

Marcelli had also been in contention until a maximum on section nine ended his challenge and he recorded another third-placed finish on a total of thirty-five that put him nine clear of Gelabert who denied Britain’s Jack Peace (Sherco) of a career-best fourth on a tie-break.

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