author: DAVID QUER
Co-founder of Trialworld. Instructor at Trialworld School. More than 20 years as a trial expert in specialized motor media.
It’s the big question we’ve asked ourselves many times. And not only because of the curiosity to know how much professional trial riders earn, but also to understand what possibilities there are to grow sportively as a pilot and end up becoming a sustainable livelihood.
Before getting into economic matters, it is necessary to know several relevant aspects, which will make us clarify the conclusions and not anchor ourselves only to a figure.
PILOT CONTRACTS
Professional pilots are self-employed (usually). They bill for their work and are not factory employees, at least in the vast majority of cases.
The economic conditions have a fixed amount and a variable amount depending on the prizes and results, both by race and by classification at the end of the year. In this way, the amount received by a driver during a season can be very different depending on certain key elements, such as injuries.
BONUSES AND BONUSES FOR RESULTS
The extension of the calendar is essential as it expands the chances of getting bonuses. For example, X-Trial World Championship riders have a cache per participation. And it’s not the same per driver. Normally, riders are paid approximately €1,000 per X-Trial, although there are cases below, and also higher, such as that of Toni Bou, who is around €3,000 per participation indoors.
If we take into account that this year only two races have been held, the economic loss for the rider of this “extra” has been very significant.
NOTHING WILL EVER BE THE SAME AGAIN. THE RULES HAVE CHANGED
Now, imagine those 90s, when a multitude of Indoor Trials were held in Spanish cities, of the type “Teresa Herrera Trophy” or “City of Oviedo Trophy”, whose value was the spectacle provided by the riders.
So, for them, the merit was to win that trophy and put on a show. Nowadays the X-Trials are part of a calendar and strategy prevails, risking more or less in each area, to aspire to the final title. Now, putting on a good show is just an unnecessary formality.
BACKPACKING YES, BACKPACKING NO
Sometimes, depending on the contract, the brand may or may not assume the expenses of the backpacker, which is normally the most important item of expenses that a pilot has. In this way, the gross salary he receives from the brand is not entirely for him. In fact, in these cases, the backpacker usually has more income than the pilot himself.
AD REVENUE EXTRAS
Gone are those golden years when tobacco companies or alcoholic beverage brands handled very important sums of money in sponsorships. They were key for riders such as Jordi Tarrés, Lampkin, Marc Colomer or Amós Bilbao, to amass interesting economic amounts even despite retiring relatively young, at just 30 years old.
Nowadays everything is very different. Without big brands willing to support a minority sport, the representation of what the manufacturer brings to the table is very high, so if the driver’s card is not very juicy, the numbers don’t add up.
We are living in a volatile period in the advertising sense. Trial is a small world and the linked brands of accessories, equipment, spare parts… They do not usually have economic items (yes, it can be via product) to contribute to the pilot. And that’s all well and good as a complement, but the rider needs monetary resources to create a model of life around trial.
HOW LONG CAN THE PILOT’S SPORTING LIFE BE EXTENDED?
The age of the pilots. If we look at the top five riders in the Trial World Championship, it is this year when a firmer generational change begins to appear. This is the case of Gabriel Marcelli, who is completing his second season with the official Repsol Honda Team, and Jaime Busto, who has made the leap to the official GASGAS team this year. On a somewhat lower level, we have the case of Aniol Gelabert with Beta Motor.
However, outside of the “top 5”, it is difficult to find stability in the resources that pilots perceive. A good example is that of Toby Martyn, British and world champion in trial2, requesting help through crowdfunding to tackle this 2023 season with guarantees at the controls of his Montesa Cota 301RR. And we are referring to the greatest British exponent and one of the ten best in the world.
There are other cases, such as that of Jeroni Fajardo or Adam Raga, who are veteran riders with a good cachet on the part of the brands, who value both their results and the contribution in terms of commercial vision and development of the bikes.
So, is it a question of talent or resources? Or a mixture of both? Be that as it may, trial does not follow the dynamics of generational change of other motorcycling disciplines.
BROKEN TALENT. WHY ARE YOUNG PILOTS RETIRING?
The sum of all the above factors is the explanation why they have hung up the boots of talented pilots. When they reach TR2 or Trial2, and the time comes to stand out, training more frequently, harder and needing more resources, they arrive drowning and it is unsustainable to remain in the elite with limited resources.
HOW MUCH DOES THE TRIAL RIDER EARN THEN?
Let’s get to the trickiest part. The rider who earns the most is Toni Bou of the Repsol Honda Team. This is obvious, as he has accumulated 32 crowns and is the greatest driver of all time. Although there are no exact figures and we have not seen contracts, it would comfortably exceed half a million euros, a figure that can double if the objectives are met and we add the income from personal sponsorships of the driver. His teammate, Gabriel Marcelli, would have arrived at the official team in 2021 for a tenth of the previous figures, although it is very likely that he has improved his conditions in this second year, where he is also signing several podiums regularly.
Behind Toni Bou, the highest-paid riders are Jaime Busto, who has improved his conditions compared to his time at Vertigo, and Adam Raga. Both riders would be receiving between one hundred and eighty and two hundred thousand euros per year as a token, plus personal sponsors and bonuses of results.
On a third level we would place Gabriel Marcelli himself, who would be somewhat more prominent than other riders in the “top ten”. In this segment, where we find Casales, Fajardo, Gelabert, Bincaz or Grattarola, they would be receiving between forty and eighty thousand euros per year.
The fourth and last level is the one where the figure is also around fifty thousand euros, but the factory does not assume the mechanic’s or the backpacker’s tokens. Or at least the backpacker’s. A backpacker can cost in the order of two thousand five hundred euros per month to the pilot, so that, if we subtract expenses, the income of the pilot, knowing that his professional life in active service is relatively short, is very low for one of the best pilots in the world.
Another model is to help pilots through local importers. In this case, the factory provides favorable conditions in the purchase of competition bikes, spare parts and can even offer logistical support in the races, but it is the local dealer who, as a means of promotion in the country, economically pushes the rider’s livelihood during the season.
WHAT BENEFIT DO FACTORIES GET?
For a well-established factory, maintaining a competition team in the above conditions means a budget of approximately half a million euros per season. In large numbers, sacrificing the income of more than a hundred motorcycles to maintain the sports structure.
