40th Trial World Championship title for Toni Bou: Rossi and Marquez pale in comparison

Toni Bou had already secured the title for the 20th consecutive time at the penultimate round of the Trial World Championship in the Netherlands. If we include his successes at the Indoor World Championship in winter, this is his 40th title in a row! The Spaniard has been unbeaten for 20 years; compared to him, the achievements of outstanding riders such as MotoGP icons Giacomo Agostini (8-time champion in the premier class), Valentino Rossi (7) and Marc Marquez (7) seem paltry by comparison, as do the seven World Championship titles each won by Formula 1 giants Michael Schumacher and Lewis Hamilton.

Toni Bou, who will celebrate his 40th birthday on 17 October 2026, makes little fuss about himself despite his outstanding status. “I tend to stay in the background,” he said in an exclusive interview with SPEEDWEEK.com. “Even so, every title feels incredible and I’m extremely proud of my career. Twenty years in a row – that’s unbelievable.”

Toni Bou ist zum 40. Mal Weltmeister

Foto: honda

When the Spaniard Jordi Tarres became champion seven times between 1987 and 1995 – back when there was no Indoor World Championship – he set a record. This was equalled in 1997 by Doug Lampkin, the Englishman who also triumphed five times indoors. Then, in 2007, the Toni Bou era began, as he shattered every record and surpassed them by a mile.

“The most important thing is talent, but 50 per cent of success comes from the hard work behind the scenes,” emphasised the Repsol Honda rider. “I have to work very hard to improve. My motivation is training to push the boundaries. I’m competing against myself; after so many titles, I’m fortunate enough to be able to say that.”

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A second career in hard enduro?

To be successful in the hard enduro scene, you need a similar level of motorcycle control to that required in trial riding; stars such as Graham Jarvis, Manuel Lettenbichler and many others have their roots there. Could this spectacular sport, with massive events like the Red Bull Erzbergrodeo, also be something for Bou after his current career?

“I like hard and super enduro and watch the races; many of these riders live in Andorra, and sometimes I train with Billy Bolt or Mario Roman,” grinned the evergreen. “Perhaps that might be something for me in the future. With a trial bike, I could ride the ‘Carl’s Diner’ scree section at the Erzbergrodeo faster, but on an enduro bike? Letti’s very fast there – but I’d be fast too. At the moment I only train three or four times a year on an enduro bike, but I really enjoy it.”

“Trial is very artistic these days,” Bou concluded. “But it also requires a lot of strength. The sport has developed remarkably and has now reached a limit. Sometimes you also need the speed or the aggression that we have in enduro, but it’s something different.”