Toni Bou tackled the problem presented by being first out onto the course today with ease – very slippery due to the rainfall of yesterday afternoon -, on the second day of the Trial Japanese Grand Prix, the fifth event of the World Championships, which took place today, Sunday, on the outskirts of the Motegi Twin Ring speed circuit, the venue for the World MotoGP Motorcycle Championships.
The Repsol rider secured second place, with the best point score of the day in the second round, a result which keeps him as the leader of the overall standings. His team-mate, Takahisa Fujinami, repeated his fourth place from the day before, knocked off the podium again by a minimum point difference.
The next event in the Trial World Championship calendar will be the British Grand Prix, also a double-header, which will take place on the 26th and 27th of June at Fort William.
Toni Bou
“To go out before everyone else is always a drawback because there are no references. Yesterday Fujinami experienced it, my team-mate, and this time it was me who had to do it. And, in conditions like today, with the terrain more slippery than the day before, it was even more difficult. In the second round, I took some risks to try to reduce the differences, but wasn’t able to avoid some mistakes which ended up being decisive. Still, the balance this weekend in Japan is very positive, with 37 points from yesterday’s victory and this second position. The next event is also traditionally one of the most difficult. I will try to make the most of going out second on the first day.”
Takahisa Fujinami
“Victory in the previous event meant that I arrived in my country even more excited than usual and now I feel disappointed because both yesterday and today I missed the podium by the minimum. And this, competing here, in front of my fans, is hard. In the first round, I made more mistakes than I should have and, although in the second I reduced the point score by more than half, it wasn’t enough.”
