Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/127787
What can I say ? My goa l this year is to be on the podium." When asked if he w as nervous, the 16-year-old replied, "Abou t what?" Perhaps his Japanese compatriot Takumi N arita put it best when he said: "Fujinami is only a child. He is having fun and d oes not worry abo ut anything ." Nervous or not, the Honda RTL pilot failed to duplicate h is remarkable feat on Sunday and dropped to a distant fourth behind the thr ee tit le contenders. His 16- and 19-p oint loops on d ay tw o w ere n' t good enough to earn h im h is first top-three position, but th ose who w itn esses h is bi cycle trial s-inspired skills at w ork kn ow that it won't be long before he sh a kes h is first ch am p agne bo ttle . Frenchman Bruno Camozzi rounded out th e top five aboard his privateer Gas Gas. Aided by his brother Christophe, who acted as minder rather than competing himself, Camozzi improved with each lap and ended up on ly a few points adrift of Fujin am i. Camozzi sits fourth in the series point standings. Rounding out the top 10 were Amos Bilbao, David Cobos, Tomoyuki Ogawa, Kenichi Kuroyama and Joachim H indren. Bilbao was his usual jovia l self as he bounced his fact ory- supported Gas Gas to sixth, saying, "I am very happy to be back on a Gas Gas. My confidence ha s improved and 1 am happy again." to be his downfall. With only four sections left in the event, it looked as if the Brit had his third win of the season in the bag. After all, he had cleaned the last four sections on both of his previous loops - all he had to do was use his head and the win was his . "Dou gie made onl y one mistake all weekend," said his father, former World Champion Martin Lampkin. "An d it was that on e mistake that cost him the trial. He was trying to make a show of it - but that's all right. Without flash and flair, you' ll nev er get the re." Lampkin attempted to nail a tricky triple step in on e fluid motion, though he had rested between the second and third led ges in his two previous trips through the ha zard. His dri ve proved to be insufficient, and he and his Beta Tec hno came crashing back to the ground . The resulting 5 set him two marks beh ind Tarres in the final points tall y. Colorner, meanwhile, was brilliant on the second day of competition and was qujte h onestly without equ al. The probl em lay with his dismal day-one performance, which saw him ranked 13th and well off the pace. The defending Spanish National Champion sucked (Above) Montesa's Marc Colomer had a dismal showing on day one , but made a remarkable recovery on Sunday that vaulted him to third overall. (Left) Japanese upstart Takahlsa Fujlnaml shocked the masses with his startllng day-one win . The factory Honda rider ended up fourth overall. The man who might be kinL T hough he won't admit it, Doug Lampkin carries on his shoulders a great deal of pressure. In addition to his own desires to become World Champion, he has some huge footsteps to follow in. His father Martin Lampkin has two World Championship titles to his credit, and many expect Dougie to become the second Lampkin to reach the pinnacle of the sport. This season, Lampkin seems to have gained a great deal of matu rity, co nfide nce and mental strength. Leaving, Rhode Island, the reserved Englishman posessed the series points lead and has two wins to his credit. Did you do anything different to prepare for this season? . No, not really. The main difference is tliat Donato Miglio joined the team. Talking about trials with him has helped me out tremendously, and it has shown me different insights that I never saw before. There are rumors that I'm off to some special sports psychiatrist or something, but that' s all rub bish. Not me - no shrinks. Donatois reallygood for me. He helps me with bike set up and we are a good team. You are in the number-one slot on the factory Beta team this year. Is there any new press ure? At the first round, yes, but after that there was no added pressure. I enjoy riding my motorcycle, I love to ride trials. If you don't enjoy what you're doing. that's when the pressure gets to you and you can't enjoy it. I just plod along and ride my own event. You come from a family rich in trials success... Yes, it is a very successful family, but there is no pressure for me to succeed. We love what we do so much that there is nothing else. My dad was World Champion and he acts as my minder. My little brother Harry is here to help with minding also. Before the season started we began practicing much earlier. We put so much effort into this - doing well in the World Championships. I didn't have a great season indoors because it was not my focus, but it is paying off now. You won your first World Round at Hawkstone in 1994, but went winless throughout last it up on day two and shocked everyone as he closed the gap well enough to earn the final spot on the podium. "I had m an y problems on Saturday," Co lomer said . "The sections are too easy - they are big but a small m istake w ill res u lt in a 5. 1 had three 5s in a row and tha t se t m e b ack. 1 b ea t everyone o n Su nday, but it was n ot enough to wi n after Satu rday." Lampkin left Rhode Island wi th the poin ts lead, 70-69 over Colomer. Tarres, meanwhile, sits a distant third w ith 60. Even th e champ h im se lf admits that wi th only s ix rounds left, he h a s hi s work cut out for him if he is to retain his number-one ranking . " It will be difficult to win because Lampkin and Colomer are riding strongly," Tarres said. "I m u st try for the wi n every time. 1 cannot settle for seco nd." Fourth overall went to the young Japanese Nation al Ch am pion who has th u s far cause d qui te a stir on the World Cha m pionshi p circuit. Factory Hon d a r ider Tak ah isa Fu ji na mi s tartled th e co mpetition as h e turned in th e low score of th e day on Saturday, h is 10point loop beating Lampkin and Tarres' 12-point scores. " I like the sections, they are m y style," Fujinami said th rough an interpreter. "I am surprised to be leading. season ... I came close on several occassions . three or four times, actually . but each time something happened. But each time I gained experience. As long as I know that I gave it 100 percent, I am satisfied with my performances. Would you say that you're mentally stronger this season? Yesand no. I've always been pretty good when it comes to concentration. This season I'm a little bit older. That's the difference. You are a part of a new generation of trials riders. Do you feel that you have a different style? Well, a new generation is creeping in, reaUy. There's a lot of new guys, but I can't say that the style is different. Jordi is great, but he can't stay on top forever. I think Colomer is the one who I will have to worry about this season,but you can't count [ordi out. What are your career goals? Of course, ever since I was tiny it was to be World Champion. I want to be champion and I want to be champion as many times as I can. I've already won the British title, the Scottish Six Days and the European Championship. The World Championship is the only title left. What is your strategy for the rest of the season? Attack! Attack every time I get on the bike and attack everything in front of me!