GP Portugal: Bou and Fujinami share the spoils
Repsol-Montesa rider Takahisa Fujinami has been on dry land since 2008. The victory of the popular Japanese on the second day of the FIM World Trial Championship in Paços de Ferreira, Portugal was quite a surprise. On Saturday there was not a problem as Toni Bou did not leave a single mark five record! With Albert Cabestany (Sherco) and Adam Raga (GasGas), it was again an entirely Spanish podium, just like in the first World Cup round.
Cabestany and Raga also scored very low. Not entirely a surprise because after inspection of the zones on Friday, the sections were made more difficult at the request of the riders. Takahisa Fujinami who finished fourth on Saturday was the only one besides Bou who managed to avoid a five. After a long battle with Dougie Lampkin, James Dabill just managed to take fifth place. After all, Dabill had started strongly, but then fell back. The opposite was the case for Lampkin, who fought back later in the trial after a poor start. Jeroni Fajardo finished sixth with almost equal points compared to Lampkin.
The surprise or rather shock was great today because an unprecedented podium with the trio Fujinami-Cabestany-Raga and especially no Toni Bou in the top three! For those who started to doubt whether Toni 'Dynamite' Bou was even human, fortunately there was confirmation. In the ninth zone, the Spanish superstar recorded two fives, putting him in a tiebreak situation with British veteran Dougie Lampkin for fourth place. Since Toni recorded the most zeros, he was still fourth. Despite some additional changes, the trial proved to be little challenge for the best riders in the world. Proof? Funjinami had a total of four (three in the first round and one in the second round) to his name. Cabestany showed the necessary regularity to hold off Raga. Good old Lampkin (34) showed in the second round that he can still easily compete with his much younger opponents. Dougie, like Raga, scored a two in the second round to close the gap with Bou. Over the two days, the Belgian Maxime Warenghien finished ninth in the Junior class.
After a very busy period in which the outdoor World Cup quickly followed the last indoor round, the riders will now get a few weeks of rest, at least during the World Cup. The next (double) round will take place during the first weekend of June in Motegi, Japan.
The World Cup standings after Portugal
1.Toni Bou 53 pts
2. Adam Raga 47 pts
3. Takahisa Fujinami 46 pts
4. Albert Cabestany 45 pts
5. Jeroni Fajardo 34 pts
Photos credit: FIM-Live, Honda
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