2024 DL12 Indoor Invitation Trial Sheffield Great Britain

SHEFFIELD SHOWTIME

It was an action-packed evening of excitement all the way for motorcycle trials enthusiasts who had flocked to Sheffield for a thrilling start to the 2024 trials season. And did they get some action, one man dominated DL12 2024, the man that is Toni Bou who showed the world why he is still the best on the four-stroke Repsol Honda. As early as the qualifying any thoughts about Adam Raga repeating his 2023 win were gone, the challenge from Jaime Busto and fellow Repsol Honda team rider Gabriel Marcelli did not happen, Bou was invincible, and the crowd loved it.

Close on 30 years ago in 1996, Sheffield made the claim to fame as the first indoor motorcycle trial as we know them today in Great Britain by giving the audience a close up and action-packed night of two-wheeled entertainment in a dry and warm stadium. After the dreaded Covid-19 break, in 2023 we would witness the return of this exciting event with a new promoter and organising team headed by the world trials legend that is Dougie Lampkin MBE supported by Jake Miller from G2F. The title DL12 gives reference to Lampkin’s 12 FIM World Championship titles in a long and rewarding career, seven outdoor titles and five indoor. The event was ideally located to accommodate the sell-out 5,500 ticket holders with the Utilita Arena Sheffield found between London and Scotland.

As a stand-alone event the organisers would have a free-hand with the rules and format to keep the crowd entertained with eight invited riders: Toni Bou (Repsol Honda-ESP); Jaime Busto (GASGAS-ESP); Adam Raga (Sherco-ESP); Gabriel Marcelli (Repsol Honda-ESP); Miquel Gelabert (Vertigo-ESP); Toby Martyn (Honda UK Montesa-GBR); Billy Green (Scorpa-GBR) and Harry Hemingway (Beta-GBR). After the opening races on the Michelin tyres, the format would see the riders start the event in reverse order for a single attempt on the six sections. The organising team knew it required an easy-to-follow competition for the spectators to enjoy with a simple format which would include Eight Riders, Six Sections and Two Races all ridden against the clock with the best four riders progressing to the final. In this four-rider final the scores would all return to zero after the qualifying and six sections would be ridden in the reverse direction with two races to find the ultimate winner of the 2024 DL12 Indoor Trial.

Two young British riders opened the action with Harry Hemingway out first followed by the 2023 FIM Trial2 World Champion Billy Green but they both struggled with the formidable sections. It was Honda UK, Montesa rider Toby Martyn’s turn next but despite some inspired riding, too many small mistakes cost him dearly. Spain’s Miquel Gelabert did not fare much better or did Adam Raga. Then Gabriel Marcelli upped the game with a super round of six marks lost followed by Jaime Busto who parted with the same. It was then the time for Toni Bou to put together a class rider with his feet remaining firmly on the footrests as he blew the opposition away.

The four-rider final was made up of the Adam Raga, Gabriel Marcelli, Jaime Busto, and the ‘King’ Toni Bou. Riding the six sections in the reverse order had the course plotter Dougie Lampkin and his team looking at the prospect of some of the sections being impossible until Toni Bou attempted them. He was head and shoulders above the other three challengers, and he put on a display which rocked the roof at the Sheffield arena as he cleared the final section named the ‘Honda Hill’ and made up for his disappointment in 2023 when he was forced to retire from the event with an injury. The crowd left the arena happy knowing that they had witnessed a master at work, Toni Bou had won again on the four-stroke Cota 4RT.