TrialGP 2023 🏆Spain, Arteixo Day 1

The 2023 Trial's World Championship started a new season in the northwest of Spain, in Galicia, specifically in Arteixo, La Coruna.
This year the World Championship will have no less than 8 GPs, all of them double, making a total of 16 qualifying rounds. The event shone for the impeccable organization, which was in charge of the Motomontain Arteixo Club, leaving the bar really high.
One of the unknowns that would be resolved on this first day was the magnificent form of Jaime Busto, who with his new GasGas team made it clear their intends to make things more difficult than ever for the multi-champion Toni Bou.
The rain on Friday made the terrain slippery in some places, but Busto only dropped two marks on the first lap, while Bou lost nine, distancing both from the rest of his rivals.
Bou's goal is to win his 17th consecutive title. His hunger for victory is insatiable as he has shown since 2007. Bou kept the pressure on Busto until sections 10 and 11, the most difficult of the day, he left a maximun and a three, while the young Basque rider overcame both by 1.
Other notable new features for 2023 season are the introduction of the Park Ferme, similar to Enduro, limiting the time available for mechanical work, and especially the elimination of the minders in half of the sections, which is generating quite a lot of controversy, given its importance for the riders safety.
The Galician fans did not miss the opportunity to see the best riders in the planet action and above all to cheer on the two home riders, Gabriel Marcelli and Jorge Casales. And it was precisely Marcelli who seemed to have more options to get on the podium, as he finished the first lap with 14 marcs lost, in the third place.
Busto arrived at this last section knowing he was the winner, having completed the second lap in 5 marks, which gave him a total of 7 against Bou's 13. Gabriel Marcelli completed the TrialGP podium in 21 marks.
Adam Raga was just two marcs off the podium followed by Aniol Gelabert, Toby Martyn, Matteo Grattarola, Casales, Petrella, Fajardo and Bincaz.
"The truth is that I'm very happy, I didn't expect to be so far ahead, I felt very comfortable with the bike, since section one I had an incredible feeling. We had worked very well during the whole season but I didn't expect this at all. The truth is that I felt incredible, let's see if tomorrow we can repeat the same. Thanks the whole team for the work they done".
In addition to the TrialGP, Trial2 and Trial3 classes, the top women's Trial class was also present in Arteixo, with only the Trial2 girls absent from the Galician event.
In the Women's TrialGP there was also a different protagonist to the reigning champion, as the Scorpa rider, Berta Abellan, barely left two dabs behind after completing the first lap of 12 sections. A record she also managed to repeat in the second lap to take her 3rd world championship victory and confirm herself as a clear contender for the title.
The sections on huge granite rocks offered great grip and Berta felt comfortable on her new fuel injected Scorpa on the big boulders and technical hazards.
One surprise in the day was also the performance of Beta's Italian rider Andrea Sofia Rabino, 2021 Trial2 World Champion, who also managed to complete the first lap in 2 marks, having clear options for the victory. But in the second lap she could not withstand the pressure and scored 7 marcs, which nevertheless led her to obtain her best world championship result on the second step of the podium.
The 8 times world champion Emma Bristow made a fiasco in section 4 that would cost her dearly, because despite recovering in the second lap equalling the 2 marcs of Berta, she was third, one point behind Rabino. The worst result for the British Sherco rider since the end of 2021.
In Trial 2 the victory went to Pablo Suarez, followed by Arnau Farre and Sondre Haga, while in Trial 3 Jone Sandvik won over Pawel Ryncarz and Alfie Lampkin.
"Yes, I'm very excited. First day that I feel so good. I think that always is for my grandmother, I'm very happy. Arteixo is a good town for me, thanks for all public for this effort."
✅ Full report, photo gallery and standings:
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