Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
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Fujinami Edges Closer with Italian GP Win D e pso l Montesa HRC' s Takahisa FUjinami r\.appears to be on course to become Worl d Trials Champion after he maintained his 19-point advantage in the overall standings by w inning the Italian Grand Prix in Apr ica, Italy, July 3-4 . Re igning World Champion Dougie Lampkin returned to the top briefly with a victory on Saturday, but he failed to capitalize further when he made several mistakes during Sunday 's event, and again he had to follow his team mate home. O nly one more clean by Gas Gas rider Adam Raga prevented Marc Freixa from completing a Repsol Montesa HRC sweep o f Saturday 's podium on a day when Montesa ce lebrated its 100t h World Trial victory courtesy of Lampkin. Freixa earned two fourth-place finishes on the weekend. The ski resort at Aprica o ffered a good mixture of river-based sections . wooded bank ings and dry rocks , creating a course with good variety, although perhaps lacking the edge when severity was considered. Saturday - after an easy opening hazard close to the training area, the riders were soon faced w ith a fearsome 40-foot, nearvertical roc k slab rising from the riverbed . British rider Sam Connor (She rco) fell heav ily there and dislocated his shou lder in the process and rem inded the large assembly that danger exists eve n in this slow -speed sport. The trial was delayed for just over 20 minutes as medics first attended to his injury and then extracted him from the difficult-to -reach position. W ith the other riders unable to match the pace set by Fujinami and Lampkin, it was clear during the second lap that the victory would be decided between the two teammates. Lampkin began his closing lap nervously with single dabs in sections two and three, but he was brilliant through the remaining 12 sections, as he only added another mark to his score. Fujinami maintained great pressure right th rough to sec tion II when a slack three put Lampkin back in the control seat. Neither of the two riders parted with any furt her marks as they shadowed ea ch other through the last few secti ons . Lampkin punched the air with delight as he rode out of the final secti on to claim his firs t victory since the opening rou nd of the year. "I had almost fo rgott en just how goo d it fee ls to stand on top of the ro stru m and to hear t he British national anthe m," Lampkin said. "Let's just hope that I don't have to wait as long as I have done t his time befo re I do the same the again . Obviously it is an important w in for me . I needed to bounce straight back after last weekend , both for my co nfidence and to at least I take as manywins as is possible ; the other riders' results are not in my hands . I know that winning the title is a big task , but I w ill continue to push right to the end," Sunday arrived w ith the info rmatio n that four sections had been modified overnight to ensure that the severity of the course had been increased sufficiently ahead o f the second day of competition. Lampkin looked like he had picked up where he had finished Saturday's trial , and he was strong through the first six sections, the last of these being the first of the altered hazards. The new ending there took Lampkin's second mark of th e day as he needed a steadying foot to keep his balance as he crested the final dou ble step slightly off line. FUjinami was superb in the same section and recorded the only clean of the lap to get his assault back on track after an early five. Lampkin then handed Fujinami the halfway mark lead as he failed to make it up the initial ste p in section 13. Th is mistake gave FUjinami a two-mark advantage. It seemed that no one wanted to win, as unforced errors accounted as much for the increased scores as d id t he changes to t he sections. Fujinami confirmed this po int as he flved secti on o ne on his second lap in mu ch the same way that Lampki n had failed lat e in the first lap in an unchanged hazar d. Briefly... I Factory Yamaha road race r Jam ie Hacking underwent a 55-mi nute surg e ry in Northern Californ ia on July I to re pair his right co llarbone, which he broke on Wednesday in a practice crash at Mid-Ohio. According to Hacking, orthopedic surgeon Dr. Ting used eight pins and a plate to secure the break. Hacking explained : "Th e surge ry went great, everything went together well, and I already have good range of motion. I'll take it easy this weekend and see how it looks and fe els next week." Hack ing said it was too early to say if he'll be racing at Laguna Seca next week. "I'll be at the t rack, and we'll see how my shoulder fee ls," Hacking is the current points leader in the AMA Superstock series and is third in the AHA Supersport class. Ducati North America and Motocorsa has announced details of Du ca t i Northwest 20 04, a one-day motorcycling extravaganza schedule for T hursday, August 5, at Portland Intern ational Raceway. The event is expected to draw thousands of riders and will incorporate track time, food , music and demo rides. Ducati aficionados can expertence all of the motorcycles in the 2004 Ducati North America lineup , including the race-proven Superbikes, on the sweeping keep the championship alive. All I can do now is to try and I curves of one of the country's most pictur- Hav ing accepted Fujinami's latest gift, it seemed that Lampkin would now go on to take the win, but he was not willing to esque road courses. Dedicated Ducatisti can test their riding skills during special accept his teammate 's present without and vintage Ducati motorcycling contests or just soak up the sunshine and sounds of Ducati motorcycles at speed. Ducati AMA and World Superbike Champion Doug Polen will be on hand to sign autographs and exchange racing tips along with other Ducati celebrities and engineers who will returning the compliment by flVing sections eight and lOon his final visit. Fujinami could hardly believe his fortune and finally took the win ahead of Lampkin, who just managed to keep Kenichi Kuroyama in th ird place after he defeated the Beta rider on a most cleans tie break. "It was important for me to w in again today, as I have maintained my lead in the championship," Fujinami said. " Ye ste rday was no t a bad resu lt, but with Lampki n w inning, I knew that he could do the same again today, which would have not given me a good feeling ahead o f t he last three t r ials. Ne it her o f us has ridd en well today, we have bo t h made some very bad fives in some st range places, but in the end I mad e just a few les s mistakes than Do ugie . Everyone is saying I w ill be champion fo r sure now, but I am not t hinking abo ut this point. Th e on ly goal I am co ncerned with is winning the next trial in Spain later t his mont h," Proton To Use KTM Engines? track time sessions, participate in custom conduct restoration and maintenancelectures at the amazing Ducati University set up on site . Four laps on a 999 Biposto with Polen will also be auctioned to the highest bidder. Ducati North America's famed Hospitality Truck will provide refreshments, music and DJs from sunup to sundown to keep everyone entertained betwee n the fashion shows and the stuntmen exhibition before Ducati Northwest 2004 closes under the stars. Gary Eagan, who just broke the Alaska to Flo rida world record (four days, fIVe hours) aboard a Ducat i Multistrada will be o n hand , as will mo to journalist and author Nick le natsch, who will be signing his new book, Sport Riding Techniques. There will also be many other sporting VIP present, all with a shared passion for Ducat i. There will also be a massive sales ar ea for Ducati prod ucts , wit h the entire range of Ducati accessories and app arel an d the new DNW2004 souvenirs. And thanks to the sup port of our numero us spon sors, ent husiasts will have o pportu nities to wi n prizes, from a lap arou nd P.I.R. in a Ferrari to a bra nd-new 2004 Ducati 620 According to rumors from t he MotoG P circui t, it ap pea rs tha t the Proton KR team is very close to using the KTM Moto GP engine fo r the 2005 season. The British-based team is still having pr oble ms with their own V-five powerplant and are keen to complete a deal to use the Austrian engi ne, which has been developed but never M onster D ark. For more information , visit www.dnw2004.co m. raced because of the cost. according to sources. Yamaha Motor Corporation USA and Yamaha of Troy have re ached an agreement th at will see YoT con tinue to groom young riders for Yamaha. "We' re honored to be part of Yamaha," said PhilAlderton, KTM curr e ntly runs a tw o-rider team in t he 125cc World Champions hips. The former crew chief to Kenny Roberts [ r., Warren Willing, is still under contract to KTM and currently works o n the development o f t he KTM MotoGP e ngine. Continued on page 9 www.cyclenews.com CYCLE NEWS • JULY 14, 2004 7