Toni Bou has secured the 2026 FIM Trial World Championship, known as TrialGP, at the Netherlands GP. The Repsol Honda HRC rider clinched the title on September 5–6 through his points advantage over the rider in second place, before the season-ending Spain GP had taken place. The result gives the 39-year-old Spaniard his 20th consecutive TrialGP world championship.

A season led from the opening round

Bou’s 2026 campaign began with victory at the Japan GP. He then won Round 2 in Andorra, Round 3 in Italy, Round 4 in Great Britain and Round 5 in France, maintaining the championship lead throughout the season described in the release. At the Netherlands GP, listed as Round 6, he completed another double by winning on both Day 1 and Day 2.

TrialGP is an outdoor discipline contested through sections built from natural terrain. That setting differs from X-Trial, the indoor discipline contested over artificial sections.

From one 20-title run to 40 world championships

Bou won his first world championship in 2007 on the HRC factory Montesa COTA 4RT and has maintained an uninterrupted TrialGP title run ever since. In March 2026, he also won his 20th consecutive FIM X-Trial World Championship. Combining the 20 TrialGP titles with the 20 X-Trial titles, the release states that Bou has now won 40 consecutive World Championship titles—an achievement it describes as virtually unparalleled in motorsport history, rather than as an officially unique record across all disciplines.

Honda Racing Corporation president Koji Watanabe had previously expressed hope that Bou would reach the 40-title milestone after the March X-Trial championship. Watanabe attributed the achievement to Bou’s riding ability and determination, as well as the Repsol Honda HRC team’s willingness to embrace change. He described the result as a shared history involving Honda, HRC, the team, supporters, sponsors and trial fans.

Bou said he was very happy and found the 40th world title difficult to believe. He described the season as excellent, highlighting consistency, good decisions at important moments and the team’s work. Securing the championship before the final race, he added, was especially meaningful; he planned to celebrate while continuing to work toward ending the season well.

Marcelli targets second place

Bou’s Repsol Honda HRC teammate Gabriel Marcelli, a 26-year-old Spaniard, is third in the current championship standings. He is targeting a move to second at the final round. Team manager Takahisa Fujinami said Marcelli had experienced a difficult weekend and confirmed that the team was third in the championship, adding that it would continue fighting to recover second place for him.

The supplied account contains an unresolved schedule discrepancy. One passage says the Spain GP remained after the Netherlands round, while Fujinami’s quoted statement refers to two races left in Pobladura. The evidence does not reconcile those descriptions, so the exact remaining-race count should be checked before publication.

The motorcycle behind the first title

The Montesa COTA 4RT on which Bou won his first world championship is described as using a liquid-cooled, four-stroke, OHC, single-cylinder engine and an aluminium twin-tube frame. Its listed wheel equipment comprises a 21-inch front tyre and an 18-inch rear tyre.