The Repsol Honda rider finished second again in Japan and he keeps the lead of the Championship, despite an injury in his ribs. Fujinami was fourth.
Toni Bou finished the second day of the Japanese Grand Prix again on the second step of the podium, despite running with a crack on the rib he had before during a training session. With this result, he keeps the lead of the Trial World Championship, with one-point advantage over Adam Raga, who won again today. His team mate at the Repsol Honda Team, Japanese rider Takahisa Fujinami, finished in fourth position.
For the second day in Motegi, The World Champion showed his grit and his extraordinary mental and physical conditions to be able to finish the Japanese Trial Grand Prix with a great result, due to his conditions during the race. Toni Bou fought for victory during the whole race and he even took the lead of the classification after the first lap despite the intense pain from his cracked rib.
The second lap was harder for the Spanish rider and, due to his injury, he lost some points in a couple of zones that made him lose the first place. In the last lap, he did not give up and he kept fighting for victory, though he finally had to settle for the second best score of the day, which allows him to keep the first position in the World Championship.
His team mate at the Repsol Honda Team, Takahisa Fujinami, was not able to make the Japanese fans attending the Motegi circuit happy. The hit he received yesterday on the knee affected him and, despite starting the race on podium positions, he kept losing strength and lost the chance to finish third. Despite his fourth position in Japan, Fujinami is now third in the Championship.
The next round of the World Championship will be the European Grand Prix, which will take place in the French town of Ile Rousse, in the French island of Corsica, next May 24th and 25th.
Toni Bou:
“I feel physically destroyed. We fought as hard as we could to be able to finish the race. Under those conditions, I think this is a good result. I was able to do well in the first lap and stay close to Adam [Raga], but in the second I felt worse and during the third I was exhausted. Nevertheless, I’m happy to have been able to finish. We couldn’t win, but we leave as leaders and we must be satisfied. I’ll stay here for a few days to rest and next week I’ll visit the doctor, although I know what I’ll have to do: stop training to recover. I hope to get to the next round in good conditions.”
Takahisa Fujinami:
“Yesterday I finished with a lot of pain. Today it started a bit better, but from the second lap I was out of strength. The knee didn’t stand it. I knew Cabestany’s score and wanted to improve to get on the podium but it was impossible. I knew I had the chance to get on the podium and with the few zones here –which allowed to recover many points if you could finish– I was motivated, but I couldn’t do it. It was a pity, because there was a huge crowd, many fans that cheered me and motivated me. I am disappointed with this fourth position, because I think it’s not a good result. I want to thank the fans and Honda for their support during this race.”
