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/128326
Briefly... Homeboy Fujinami H RC rider Takahisa Fujinami recorded his first-ever home Grand Pr,ix victory by winning bo th days of the twolday World TrialsChampionship competition at the Twin Ring Circuit in Motegi, Japan , May 22-23. The dou ble win also moved Fujinami Takahisa Fujinam i won his home round of the Warld Trials Champ ionship. into a tie with his teammate D ougie Lampkin at the to p of the World Championship points standings. Lampkin finished a close second on both days of the t rial, with the th ird member o f the Repsol/Montesa/Honda team, Mark Freixa, making it a one-tw a -three finish for the squad o n Sunday. T he stee p wooded grounds on the outside of the Mot oGP circuit were a suitable host to the majority of the IS sections that mak e up a Wo rld Trials Cham pion ship course, and back in the main track complex slight misfire as soon as w e put it on the track. N ow we have three weeks to w ork two man-made sections were laid ou t , T his yea r the first and last secti o ns had been constructed to re flect tra dit ional-style Japanes e gar den s complete with flowing wa te r and decorat ive trees . Heavy rain in the days just prio r to the trial had left ground co nditions we t and heavy, but de spite the co nd itio ns the grad ed riders pre dicted a low-scor ing trial after their Friday aftemoon course inspection. Fujinarni o pted fo r safety by tak ing a wellplaced dab to o pe n his account at this ho me Gp, and having watched Gas Gas' Adam Raga take an early trip over the handlebars at the same tricky point, Lampkin did no more than match his teammate. As the competition made its way first to the steep rocky face immed iate ly outside late efforts d id no t go to tally unrewarded as he took th ird, wit h Jarvis and Fre ixa ro unding o ut the top five, respectively. T hou gh mu ch of th e atte ntion was focused on the battl e be tween the leaders , the de but of the new Honda fou r-st ro ke mach ine ridde n by Tomoyuki Ogawa also made noise. O gaw a was very much the talking po int as he po sted the third-be st seco nd-lap score, his loss of only seven marks securing him and his new machine ninth place overall in the bike's debut. "T his is my home country, and it is also the home country of Honda, so by winning today, I fee l that I have rewarded all those people that support me ; it is an incred ible feeling and one I love so much," Fujinami "It is an incredible feeling and one I love so much." - Takahisa Fujinam i the oval banked circu it then to the depths of the more muddy wooded areas , a threeway battle for the lead had deve lop ed among the three Repso l/Mo ntesa/H RC ride rs. Afte r eigh t sect io ns Fujinam i and Lampkin were locked for the lead o n two marks apiece, with Freixa in close guard having dr o pped just on e mark more at this stage . Howeve r, it wou ld be the Japanese ride r w ho ar rived to exchange his first lap pu nch card as the clear leade r, having said from the podium. "I made a really good first lap, much better than I had expected or even imagined, and although I had a good advantage , it almos t brought too much pressure , as I felt everyone tho ught I cou ld not lose from this position. It wou ld be true to say I fe lt the pressure o n the sec o nd lap, especially as the other riders were riding very we ll.Tha nkfully I managed to hold on ." , Lampkin's expression as he handed in his remai ned unpen alized for the remai nder of the sections on his first visit. In contrast disappoi ntment. "T he win was there fo r the taking on both laps, but I bad two bad mistakes, w hich both ended up in fives," Lampkin said. "Right now I'm feeling a little disappointed, as I know I should have won, as the Lampkin had lost a soft two at secti on nine and then a disastrous five marks tw o sections later when he fell back from the final step in one of the easier hazards on the course. During the same period Freixa had added seven marks to his score with an equally disappoin ting close to his first lap. Raga was making his own way back up the leaderboard by posting the best sec o nd lap score , his three mark loss being consid- erably better than his morning performance. Although under much pressure in fron t of his home fans, Fujinami rega ined his composure to finish strongly and net the win by a single mark from Lampkin. Raga's Californian Kenny Noyes (Troll Honda BQR), now beginning his th ird seaso n in the Spanish Fo rmula Extre me Champio nship, finished ninth in ro und one at the Circuit of Catalunya (Barcelona) wh en a misfire set in after five of the 16 laps , d ro pping him o ut of co ntact with the lead grou p. Th e race was won by Ivan Silva (Yamaha/Michelin) ahead of former MotoGP riders David De Gea (Noyes' Hon da teammate o n Dunlop ) and Josi Luis Cardoso (Yamaha/Michelin). Carmelo Morales (Alsta re Suzuki/Dunlo p) crashed on the last lap w hile batt ling Silva and De Gea fo r the lead. "We just got our kit parts from Honda a week before the race and really didn't have e nough time to pre pare ," said Noyes in a tea m rele ase . "On the tes t bed we are getting 195 HP with the CBR IOOORR, but my bike had a final score card was a clear indication of his conditions really suited me . However, it isn't all bad news, as with Raga finishing third , it means that I am now back in front in the championship, which can't be such a bad th ing. Hopefully they will toughen some sections up ready for tomorrow, when I will be doing everything possible to make sure that it is me that climbs to the top of the podium rather than anyone else . Leaving he re in front would be a rea l bonus . " Raga looked almost relieved as he climbed onto the podium. ' ~fter the start I made this morning, th ird place is pe rhaps the best result I co uld ex pect," Raga said. "My day sta rted ve ry bad ly wit h a five in the first section , then I took ano ther five in sectio n eight when I bro ke a high marker po st with my fro nt brake lever. I was pleased with my seco ndlap sco re, especially when I do not co nsider myse lf to be particu larly strong in these type of conditi ons . I hope tomorrow I can put myself in a position to rega in." There were o nly slight modifications made to three sections on Sunday, and Fre ixa cleaned the first eight sections, although he was not quite alone, as Fujinarni cleaned the first seven and Lampkin was still clean after section five. The battle among on getting this bike up front at round two." Th e sec o nd of the Spanish Nationals will be he ld at Jaram a in Madrid on June 20. Team Motorcyclist's Post , a nat ional-level motorcycle dirt track race team , has anno unced it will appear at St. John's Hospital in Springfield, Illinois on Friday, May 28 , at I:30 p.m. The team, featu ring national number 64 Aaron Cr eamer, and the team's masc ot, "Egor the Eagle," w ill mee t and greet patients fro m the ped iatric depart ment of the hosp ital prior to the Memo rial Day weekend doub leheader racing events at the Illinois State Fairgro unds. The hospital will have the circular driveway in front of the Child ren's and Women's clinic set aside for riders and their motorcy- Fupnaml, as Freixa suffered a most unwant- cles, which will be on display for the local media. Sponsors wishing to participate in this charitable endeavor can contact Leo Cas tell Jr. at 203/606- 1S IS, or via email at lcastell@snet.net. The Moto rcyclist's Post is a New England regional newspaper for ed five, However, Lampkin was docked a motorcyclists that wi shes to promote a five at the next hazard, when the observer positive image of motorcycling and motorcycle competition through charitab le relat ed be nefits . the three Montesa riders con tinued throughout the first lap, and by section I I there was nothing to separate Lampkin and deemed him to have touched a marker flag. Lampkin filed an official protest, but his case was eventually d ismissed . Upset by the incident, Lampkin conceded another three marks in section I 3 to leave FUjinami as a clear leader after the first lap, and demoted himself to third place at th is point behind Freixa, who was finally find ing his form in the slippery conditions. Fujinami was beginning to feel the pressure, but he did just eno ugh to hang o n for his sec ond victory of the weekend. Fre ixa finished strongly fo r third. Lamp kin's fight back was incred ible as he cleaned every sec tion on the final lap, but th is was still not enough to sto p him being defeated o n the tie breaker. "It has been a fantastic weekend fo r me and my team," Fujinami said. "I dreamed about winning both days be fore the trial, and now it is true. It is the best feeling I can ever imagine. Again I started very weli, so I had a good margin when I began to feel the pressure on the second lap. With the crowd cheering my every move , I was fighting hard to maintain my concentration and to com - plete my second victory. Although I am very pleased with my results, I know from this weekend that I must be stronger mentally if I am to win the championship." The fourth round of the World Trials Championship will be held in Duluth, Minnesota, June 5-6 . Road racer Michael Barnes has annou nced an "enhanced part ners hip" with Cham pio ns O nline for the 2004 AHA Pro Hon da Oils Supe rspo rt series. Champions O nline is an Inte rnet -based moto rcycle part s and accessories store and also opera tes four motor- cycle dealerships in the state of Flo rida Champions Hon da-Kawasaki in Co coa, Champions Yamaha in O akland , Ch ampions Honda of Leesburg in Leesburg, and soon to be Champio ns Yamaha (fo rmerly The Turning Whe el Sport Center) also in Leesburg. "Champions O nline has been providing support for my Supers port effort since Dayto na and has now ste pped up th eir level of support as the primary spo nsor of the team," Barnes said. "With their add itional support, I am confident that we can continue what has been to date a very successful season in the AHA Pro Honda O ils Supersport championship." Fo r more information on Champions O nline visit www.cham pionsonline.com . The Women's Motocross and Super- cross Foundation (WMXF) will host a luncheon at High Point Raceway o n Saturday, May 29 . The eve nt will take place under the Parts Unlimited Tent in the pro pits from I I a.m. . I p.m. The luncheon is free of charge and will feature guest spea kers Helen Forti and Steve Hudson. WMXF Continued on page J3 www.cyclenews.com CYCLE NEWS • JUNE 2, 2004 11