2005 Indoor World Trial Championship Round 4
30/1/2005 - Stadium Palacio de los Deportes, Spain
Finished on the podium with "The best ride in the season so far"
Just 2 days after the battle in France, competitors gather for the
round 4 in Spain. Technically speaking, it was less than 2 days, for
the round 3 took place in the evening just like regular Indoor event,
but the round 4 was held in the afternoon, so there were only 36 hours
between the rounds.
It was especially tough for team Repsol Montesa-HRC. Because they
are still developing the 2005 bike, they did not have enough bikes
to send them to both France and Spain. Riders were lucky to fly in
to Spain, but the team had to travel 1,200km by land. And when they
arrived, bike adjustment and works were waiting for them, so there
was no time for team staff to rest.
Raga picked the first starting order for the qualification lap following
the wild card rider Bethune. Raga showed what made him the reigning
world champion, and he showed an excellent ride with only 5 penalty
points. Fuji was impressed by Raga's performance. However, there were
some advantages for the Spanish riders at Granada, for they use the
same sections for Spanish Indoor championship too.
Fuji was again the fourth rider to start the lap as the previous round.
As later he evaluated himself that it was his best ride of the season,
he was satisfied with his performance. He was able to control the bike
rightly, and he was very confident to attack the sections. It showed
in his results, and he finished second with 8 points following Raga.
Fuji was classified for the final lap after 2 rounds of no-show.
Three past champions were classified for the final lap: Raga, Fuji
and Cabestany. It started with all three riders fived at the section
one. But Raga kept his penalty point lowest with 7 prior to the double-lane.
Both Fuji and Cabestany fived at the section 5 again, and they let
Raga stretch his lead. Raga won both double-lanes, Cabestany had 1
win and 1 loss, and Fuji lost both times. Fuji suffered another five
at the section 7, and he could not turn over the point gap and finished
3rd.
It seems like Fuji hasn't been able to show his maximum performance
so far this year. Fuji agrees that too, and he says that, under the
circumstances, he doesn't think he can win even if it were the Outdoor
championship. Part of the reasons is that the bike is still under development,
and he is trying to figure out the way to bring out the bike's best.
However, it is also a good sign that despite of Fuji having some difficulties
he has finished on the podium. The factory is constantly pursuing the
bike's development, things can only get better.
Fuji learned a lesson in Toulouse, that prior to the competition,
he did not have enough time to ride the bike, which featured the new
frame and the engine. In Granada, he intensively used a warm up session
to accustomed to the bike. So, realistically speaking, Fuji is not
in a position to beat the champion Raga in the Indoor championship
at the moment. However, he still has a chance for the 2nd place, as
well as fighting for the 3rd overall.
Fuji will continue his Indoor championship challenge with the bike
development going forward at the same time.
Quote from Fujigas:
Indoor Trial World Championship 2005
Round 4 |
Final Lap |
1. |
Adam Raga |
Gas Gas |
18 |
2. |
Albert Cabestany |
Sherco |
22 |
3. |
Takahisa Fujinami |
Repsol Montesa-HRC |
28 |
Qualificarion Lap |
1. |
Adam Raga |
Gas Gas |
5 |
2. |
Takahisa Fujinami |
Repsol Montesa-HRC |
8 |
3. |
Albert Cabestany |
Sherco |
10 |
4. |
Marc Freixa |
Repsol Montesa-HRC |
17 |
5. |
Jeroni Fajardo |
Gas Gas |
17 |
6. |
Dougie Lampkin |
Repsol Montesa-HRC |
23 |
7. |
Jerome Bethune |
Gas Gas |
44 |
Point Standings |
1. |
Adam Raga |
40 |
2. |
Albert Cabestany |
30 |
3. |
Dougie Lampkin |
22 |
4. |
Takahisa Fujinami |
21 |
5. |
Marc Freixa |
15 |
6. |
Jeroni Fajardo |
13 |
7. |
Toni Bou |
5 |
8. |
Jerome Bethune |
5 |
9. |
Tadeusz Blazusiak |
2 |
10. |
Fumitaka Nozaki |
1 |
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