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Trial: Bou returns to his winning way, as Fujinami takes third spot
02 luglio 2007 
The small town of Erba, approximately seventy kilometres North of Milan was the latest stop on the 2007 tour and served up a stiff challenge even for the top riders. The course itself, at fifteen kilometres in length, the maximum distance allowed created its own problems, and forced the overall time limit to be extended by nearly an hour. The local landscape offered a good variety of sections, with the first half of the lap being based in a stream, while the later hazards were set on a steep banking in a wooded area high on the hillside, leaving just the last two man made hazards back at the start area. With temperatures reaching nearly thirty degrees Celsius, Bou showed just how hot he was during the first lap as he opened up a fourteen-mark lead over Raga after the first tour of the fifteen difficult sections. Marc Freixa – Scorpa caused the shock of the morning session as he placed third at the mid point, just ahead of Fujinami and James Dabill – Montesa, with Lampkin back in sixth spot at this stage. The heat really got to Bou at the start of lap two, with the young Spanish rider having to sit out for a few minutes after he nearly feinted as the tough conditions took their toll. Although unable to match his earlier performance and whilst nowhere near 100%, Toni managed to maintain his lead to come home seven marks clear of Raga at the finish. Fujinami mounted a fantastic fight back to post the best lap of the trial, but despite his second lap showing the Japanese rider had to settle for third position come the end. Lampkin also improved during the later part of the competition to snatch a hard earned fourth spot. Bou - 1st : “I am very happy to have won again, especially after losing on the second day in Japan, and also at the Spanish championship round last weekend. It was not an easy victory for many reasons. It has been a tough trial overall and the heat also added to this. I made a good first lap, and was not feeling any pressure as I had a good lead, but I felt very ill at the beginning of the second lap and this effected my concentration and rhythm. In the end I just did enough, which considering everything was a good result, especially as I have increased my lead in the championship too.” Fujinami – 3rd : “Third is a good result after my performance this morning, but it was not the result I was hoping for, as judging by my second lap score I should have been much closer to the leading two riders. I made far too many errors on the first lap including no less than five maximum scores. Thankfully, with the help of my team the second lap was a new trial, and one where I rode at my best and without a single five in any of the fifteen sections. It is good to be on the podium again, but I really want to win, as I am missing that special feeling.” Lampkin – 4th : “Having not ridden since I injured my finger in Japan, it was always going to be a difficult Grand Prix for me. This was made worse by the fact that it has been a really tough trial, even if I had been fully fit. My right hand is really tired and sore, as the other fingers have been compensating for the lack of grip I have in my damaged finger. At times it was difficult to just hang on, especially when you had to hit some of the stuff really hard and with full commitment. With another two rounds over the next two weeks, it is going to have to be a case of survival before anything else, so hopefully I can then be fully fit for my home GP.” The ultra tough and high scoring event, even in the lower categories saw Ladies World champion Laia Sanz – Repsol Montesa HRC suffer one of her worst results of the season to date as she finished down in fourteenth place. “I knew from my result in the European event yesterday, that it was going to be tough again today, and that has been exactly the case. I was unable to find any kind of form and as you can see from my results, it has been a very disappointing weekend from my personal point of view.” RESULTS: 1. Toni Bou (E-Montesa), 35 ; 2. Adam Raga (E-Gas Gas), 42 ; 3.Takahisa Fujinami (JPN-Montesa), 45 ; 4. Dougie Lampkin (GB-Montesa), 68 ; 5. Albert Cabestany (E-Sherco), 69 ; 6. Marc Freixa (E-Scorpa), 74 ; 7. James Dabill (GB-Montesa), 83 ; 8. Jeroni Fajardo (E-Beta), 88 ; 9. Daniel Oliveras (E-Sherco), 90 ; 10. Christophe Bruand (FR-Sherco), 109 ; 11. Jordi Pascuet (E-Beta), 112 ; 12. Jerome Bethune (FR-Beta), 124 (3x0); 13. Michele Orizio (IT-Scorpa), 124 (2x0); 14. Daniel Gibert (E-Montesa), 128 ; 15. Francesco Iolitta (IT-Sherco), 131 World Championship positions after 5 rounds; 1. Bou, 137 ; 2. Raga, 120 ; 3. Fujinami, 103 ; 4. Lampkin, 88 ; 5. Cabestany, 79 ; 6. Fajardo, 66 ; 7. Dabill, 63 ; 8. Freixa, 58 ; 9. Oliveras, 35 ; 10. Bruand, 26 ; 11. Bethune, 22 ; 12. Kuroyama, 17 ; 13. Maurino, 17 ; 14. Ogawa T, 15 ; 15. Morris, 13 Next event: 6th round at Myslenice, (Poland) on 08 July |
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