2005 Indoor World Trial Championship Round 8

Found a good combination with the bike but missed the final lap.

Round 8 of IWT championship took place in Lisbon Portugal. A week ago, Fujinami spent a frustrating time in Italy, because he could not bring out the potential of the bike, which he knew was pretty high. So, he concentrated on getting used to the bike in a short interval before the Portugal round. It was actually the first time since round one in Sheffield that he had such efficient time to ride the bike we would use in the competition.

Fuji was the second rider to start the qualification lap following Tadeusz Blazusiak. Blazusiak has been appearing at the Indoor competition quite regularly this year. Although he wasn't up to perform as regular riders would do, watching Blazusiak's ride gave Fuji some ideas for his ride.

Sections in Portugal were generally technically demanding, but the biggest challenge was section two, where a hop over with two steps to climb in succession. It was a true test of a precise timing, and was the section either 'clean or five'. Cabestany was the only rider who found the fine timing to succeed, and the rests all fived.

Fuji made a mistake at the section five, which wasn't especially difficult, and it costed his chance for the final lap. There was a hop over to a steel plate, and he aimed to hook the engine-guard to the plate. When he hopped over, the rear tire hitthe scaffold pipe and the rear wheel slipped a bit. Fuji ended up with a maximum penalty points.

Fuji completed the seven observed sections with 11 points. He won the double-lane against Lampkin, but Fuji was 2 points short behind Lampkin to finish fourth and miss the final lap. It was a huge disappointment for Fuji, for he felt very comfortable on the bike, which he described as a good integration with the bike.

It was Cabestany that showed a solid ride in Portugal. He completed the qualification lap with a perfect score. Fans were thrilled by Cabestany's performances, and they gave him a big support in the final lap too. When the final lap was over, he shared the same penalty points with Raga, but Cabestany was 2 second faster than the championship leader. Cabestany celebrated his first win of the season, and Raga's consecutive winning was stopped with 7 wins.

The development program of Montesa is going successfully, and the bikes are getting to be the final stage. Lampkin showed his strong ride against Cabestany and Raga in the final lap, and it showed the potential of the bike. Unfortunately Lampkin made mistakes and he dropped from the battle this time.

There will be a big testing week for Montesa after the Portugal round, and further development and adjustments are to be taken into the bikes. The team looks to bring their latest bikes to the next round in Italy. It is interesting to see how the bikes are going to be, but one thing for certain is that Fuji will not have much time to ride the bike prior to the competition again.

Fuji and Montesa team are looking forward to good results in the Indoor season, but their first priority is to develop the bike the best way possible for the moment.

Quote from Fujigas:

I am so frustrated, because I am sure I would go to the final lap if I could keep my decent ride. My condition was good, and integration with the bike was quite well too. I don't think my performance was bad, but the results didn't turn out the way I wished.
I saw Dougie making some mistakes at the end of the final lap and dropping from the battle, and I wished if I were there. The development program for the Outdoor season is going great, but we are not yet up to show it in the indoor season this year. We are very close, so I am looking forward to go out competitively soon.

Pix: < http://www.worldtrials.info/>

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