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World trial: Fujinami and Bou both on the podium in Italy

In Offroad

23 giugno 2009

Only for the second time this season, it was not a Repsol Montesa HRC that topped the podium with Takahisa Fujinami and Toni Bou having to settle for second and third places respectively at a tough Italian Grand Prix. Adam Raga – Gas Gas was the deserved victor on this occasion and produced an incredible second lap performance to seal his second win of the series. Both Fujinami and Bou improved during the afternoon session aboard their factory four-stroke bikes as they got to grips with the difficult conditions. Toni still heads the overall standings by fourteen points with three rounds remaining, whilst Fujinami has now moved back into third position in the championship table.

The small town of Barzio set deep in the Italian mountains and approximately eighty kilometres north of the city of Milan played host to this weekend’s trial Grand Prix. The steep sided valley with its lush green vegetation offered a good variety of sections that began in the river immediately next to the paddock before the riders then climbed high up the surrounding hillside. Heavy rain in the days prior to the event had left the ground under the trees both damp and greasy.

Bou riding his factory Cota 4RT began the day well dropping just a single mark in the first seven slippery sections, but then suffered his worst run of form this year as he then notched up no less than three maximums in the next three hazards, which were all situated at the highest point on the course. However Toni’s nightmare did not stop there as he incurred two further fives before the first lap was over as he rushed to avoid time penalties. Fujinami found himself in a similar situation and also picked up the majority of his marks on the opening tour as he too tried to finish within the intermediate time limit.

Some poor riding and six marks on time put Bou down in fifth spot at the halfway point, whilst Fujinami despite also being penalised four marks for being late at the mid point found himself just two marks behind the initial leader and eventual winner Raga. With conditions drying in the high temperatures, the Repsol Montesa HRC duo set about making amends for their earlier mistakes as the second lap got under way. Despite a dispute five in section twelve on his second visit, Toni still recorded the second best final lap with a total of ten marks, which was some twenty two marks lower than his initial attempt. Fujinami also raised his game through the closing fifteen hazards, but his tally of fifteen marks for the lap was not enough to prevent Raga taking the win.

Fujinami – 2nd : “My riding was not perfect today, so when you can finish second and you have not ridden at your best you have to be happy. The trial has been OK, the sections were a little difficult to understand on the first lap, so perhaps why many of the riders made so many mistake. My first lap was OK until the final sections, but the problem was we had no time and rode these in a rush without even looking at them. I was happy with how the second lap went, especially as I still have some pain in my ribs after the crash in England. ”

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