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/128330
Split Decision In World Trial as Gas' Adam Raga and Repsol Montesa,lHRC's Takahisa Fujinami shared a win apiece at the French round of the World Trials Championship, held in the village of Valdeblore, some 35 miles north of Nice. With his teammate Dougie Lampkin finishing second on both days of action , Fujinami now leads the championship by I I points. Fujinami and Raga traded places over the two days, going 3-1 and 1-3, respectively. The World TrialsChampionship returned to Europe after having visited both Asia and America for the last two rounds . The first G four sections offered little resistance to the top men, and FUjinami was the initial leader, having dropped just one mark against two marks lost by Lampkin and three by Raga during the same period . With no waming, rain arrived, making the conditions very slippery as the first day went on. Eleven of the 15 sections were situated in the fast flowing river that could be found on the south side of the village; the remaining four hazards were all on dry rocks , the earlier two of these being situated on a steep and dusty face high above the paddock. None of the top 10 rode very well during the opening lap, as each committed his own errors in a range of hazards. Their level of performance was further restricted as many were faced with riding the last few sections without inspection as they battled to finish within the immediate time limit of 3 1/2 hours. Through more grit and determination than great riding, Lampkin headed the pack after the first lap with 22 marks, including one time penalty. He was closely followed by Raga on 24, the young Spaniard having made it to the time check within sec onds to avoid further penalty. Fujinami was left in third place at this stage on 2S marks , three of these being due to his lateness. Raga turned up the heat early on the second lap and took control while Lampkin and Fujinami failed to improve their form and were left to battle it out for the other podium positions - the British rider finally coming home second four marks ahead of his Japanese teammate. The win was Raga's third victory of the season, and he was pleased to be back on top again. "This is a good victory for me and one that I needed after having not managed to secure one in either Japan or the USA," Raga said. "This morning it seemed like none of us wanted to win the trial; we were not riding well , not for any particular reason other than perhaps pressure. When I saw Lampkin make the mistake in the first section on lap two, I knew it was my chance. I was very pleased with my performance on the second lap. This resu lt helps put me in a good position for the championship race ." Lampkin couldn't hid his disappointment in not winning. his latest victory coming in the opening round in Ireland. "H aving won last time the trial was here, I was hoping for a victory again today, but unfortunately I did not ride well enough on the second lap and was unable to stop Raga," Lampkin said. "The sections were quite British and should have suited me better. The time was a big issue on the first lap with there being so many riders in the other two classes - this meant we were all forced to ride the iast few sections without getting off our bikes. Whilst I am happy to have pulled some points back on Fujinami, I would have been far happier if I had won . Let's hope tomorrow brings that win that I am so desperately looking for." With only one section modified overnight, the riders faced a very similar trial on day two. As was the case the day before, Lampkin held a slim lead over Fujinami after the first lap, with Raga close by. No one could live with Lampkin and Fujinami as they traded blows during a very tense second lap, and it was only a late error by Lampkin that eventually allowed Fujinami to take the victory. A single dab in the penultimate hazard brought Fujinami and Lampkin level, each on 13 marks, but immediately Lampkin knew he would be defeated, having recorded two less cleans than his teammate throughout the day. Raga could consider himself lucky to have held third place, as Albert Cabestany's late charge only came up short because of a tie breaker. "This is a great victory for me ; after yesterday I said it was my goal to return to the top today, and that 's exactly what I have done," Fujinami said. ''Again I did not ride particularly well on the first lap, but during the second lap I enjoyed a great battle with Lampkin. To win and to slightly increase my lead in the series is a great way to close this round . Now I am looking forward to Andorra when I must continue the fight." Lampkin, on the other hand, could only refiect of what could have been. "Words can not explain just how disappointed I am right at this moment, to have come so close to getting my first win since Ireland, and then losing it at the last minute is not a great feeling," he said. "I think I would be being hard on myse lf if I could have expected to have ridden any better in the circumstances. We were both riding at a very high level. I think that is clear from the advantage we gained over Raga on the second lap. I came here this weekend to close the gap on Fujinami, and I have failed to do that, so it has not been a good weekend . I know I have a big task ahead, but it is not over yet ." Fujinami leads the series over Lampkin, 176-165. Raga is third with 159 points. Hannah Painting Purchased Motocross historians and airplane racing fans will be happy to leam that a one-of-a-kind historic painting of a champion of both sports has found a suitable home. Motocross champion Bob Hannah also raced a WWII Mustang, Voodoo Chile, for airplane owner Bob Button. Button was the winning bidder for a painting of Hannah donated to the BlueRibbon on the course. Needless to say, Hannah landed the plane safely that day and went on to APPPOINTED: Sandra Strazzari as the win some races for me . I've got the perfect intemational press and public relations offi- place for the painting in my new airplane hanger. I still have the Voodoo Chile, and the painting will be a perfect cer of the World Superbike Championship , by the FGSPORT Group, for the remain ing rounds of the 2004 Superbike World Championship. Strazzari's duties will begin at the seventh round of the series at Laguna Seca in Monterey, California, on July 7. reminder of those exciting days when Hannah raced the plane." "It' s really neat that the painting is going Coalition by motorsports artist Robert Utne . The "one-of-akind" painting dep icts Hannah to someone wi th that in a motocross racing pose kind of history and with the "Voodoo Chile " Mustang in the background. Proceeds of the auction will go to the BlueRibbon personal Coalition's access protection efforts . "Hannah escaped imminent danger in the Voodoo Chile," said Button , when notified of his winning bid. "At the Reno Air Races in 1998, a control failure caused the plane to go straight into the air with such force that Hannah briefly lost consciousness. Disoriented when he revived, Hannah's first thought was that I would fire him if he didn't get the plane back 10 JUNE 30, 2004 • association with Hannah," said BlueRibbon Coalit ion founder/development director Clark Collins. "Inducted into the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame in 1999, Hannah literally dominating the sport of motocross from 1976 to 1979. When supercross racing was in its infancy in the late '70s , Hannah was the first U.S. supercross superstar. I'm proud to have Hannah on our team help ing to raise funds for our recreation advocacy work." CYCLE NEWS HIRED: Lance Bryson as director of sales for Advanstar Communications' Powersports Group, effective immediately. Bryson will be focusing his efforts on increasing sponsorship sales, exploring new growth areas and "stirring things up" for the group. " I can't wait to get started," exclaims Bryson. "I've worked closely with Mike Webster and Tracy Harris for 20 years . Our strong. existing relat ionship makes it possi- ble for me to hit the ground running with Advanstar 's Powersports Group. Their forward -thinking attitude and vision promotes a great environment, thriving with new ideas and possibilities. We 're coming up on some new and exciting times In the world of powersports, and I'm really looking forward to pushing the limits of not only my new group , but the Industry at large." Bryson was formerly the director of national sales 40th Anniversary Communications' BORN: A baby girl, Gianna Rae Knight, on June 15 to dirt tracker Ben Knight and his Wife, Shane. APPOINTED: Clyde Fessler as the chief executive officer for the Viper Motorcycle Company, effective immediately. Fessler joins the company after a 2S-year career at Harley-Davidson. Fessler retired from Harley-Davidson in 2002 as the company's vice president of business development. Fessler succeeds Terry Nesbitt, who was named chief executive officer following the retirement of John Fiebelkorn , who had been president and CEO of the company since November, 2002 . Nesbitt, one of Viper's founders , had been executive vice president of sales and marketing. With the appointment of Fessler as CEO , Nesbitt will return to his post as EVP of sales and marketing. O PEN ED: West Coast Racing's home page on the World Wide Web . The site can be found at the following address: http://www.westcoastracing.net .