2005 Indoor World Trial Championship Round 12
27/3/2005 - Stadium: SA Blanca Dona, Ibiza Spain
The season of perseverance is over for the Montesa riders
The final round of IWTC took place at Ibiza, the island off the coast
of Barcelona. It was the third time that the Indoor event being held
in the Spanish land this year.
It was up to the riders at Montesa team to choose the bike for the
final round: 'works' bike- Fujinami calls it as his 'proper' bike,
and the standard-based bike. Fuji chose the standard-based bike as
he did for the previous round. He didn't want to slow down the bike
development for the Outdoor by shipping his 'proper' bike to Ibiza,
because it would take about a week shipping the bike to and from the
island. Lampkin on the other hand chose the 'works' bike, for he was
in a serious battle for 3rd in the championship against Fajardo by
sharing the championship points with 55. He rode the 'works' bike in
UK a week ago, and he wanted to stick with the bike that he had some
fresh experiences.
Fuji rode the standard-based bike in UK a week ago, but because of
intensive test sessions with the 'proper' bike he had between rounds,
Fuji needed to adjust himself again for the standard-based bike for
the competition at Ibiza; such adjustment confused the Montesa riders
throughout the Indoor season. Although Fuji's main focus has already
shifted to the Outdoor season, it was clear that he would try his best
to finish on the podium when he competing. Knowing Lampkin on the superior
equipment, beating his teammate on the standard-bike was another goal
for him at the round too.
Tadeusz Blazusiak started first for the qualification lap, and he
completed seven observed sections with 32 penalty points. Freixa followed
with 23, then Cabestany with 16, and Raga with 10. Lampkin was next
but he struggled and made a lot of mistakes. It was also unfortunate
for Lampkin because he needed to finish better than Fajardo, but starting
before the rival, he had to show all his cards and tricks to him. Lampkin
seemed to be a little bit anxious for the championship battle, and
he completed seven sections with 23 points.
Watching the rivals' performances, Fuji calculated that he needed
to keep the penalty point around high 10s in order to proceed to the
final lap. When inspecting the sections earlier, there were two sections
appeared to be too tough for him to avoid taking fives. It was then
up to Fuji if he could keep it together for the rest of the lap to
minimize his penalty points. Fuji started the lap by clearing the first
section as everybody else. He went on to the section 2; where Lampkin
fived, and he had a single dab there. But from section 3 to 5, Fuji
marked three consecutive fives, and he completed seven sections with
19 points. Fuji knew that his chance for the final became smaller.
Fajardo followed as the final rider in the qualification lap, and
he completed the sections with 17 points. It was then became the battle
between Fajardo and Fuji for the final spot for the final. Meanwhile,
Fajardo came to Ibiza with 4 points advantage over Fuji for 3rd in
the championship. If Fajardo would finish at or better than 4th, Fuji
needed to win the event to take the 3rd in the championship.
At the high jump, Lampkin made an error, and his chance for 3rd in
the championship was gone. Fajardo safely cleared the high jump, and
then he went on to the double-lane against Fuji. The only chance Fuji
had for the final was winning the double-lane and hope that Fajardo
would take another penalty point. However Fajardo was very careful
and he took his time at DL. He gave away the victory to Fuji, but making
no further mistake to finish the lap with 18 points- one point better
than Fuji, to take the spot for the final lap.
When the qualification was over, the Indoor championship rankings
were all fixed. Young Fajardo captured the 3rd place in his first IWTC
season. The former Indoor world champion Lampkin followed at 4th, and
Fuji settled at the 5th place.
It was a very busy Indoor season for Montesa team and its riders,
for they put the maximum effort to develop the bike for the Outdoor
season while competing the series. It was the season of perseverance,
and hard for the riders to maintain their motivation toward the competition
too. Prior to the season, Montesa team considered to skip the Indoor
season to concentrate on new bike development. However, having two
world champions in the team, they knew it would be a huge disappointment
for the fans and the sponsors by not attending the series. The team
decided to enter the series, but all the results show how difficult
the season was for their riders. The team appreciates the effort being
put by the riders, and they are satisfied with the results considering
the situation. Yet it was very hard and frustrating for Fuji and the
rest of team riders to celebrate the rival standing on top of the podium.
Still the team collected some valuable data by competing this year's
Indoor series, which the data they wouldn't achieve by testing and
practicing alone. The Montesa team will be participating the Spanish
championship next, in which their 'works' bike making its debut at
the Outdoor competition. Let's hope that all the Montesa riders will
bounce back for their revenge in the coming Outdoor seasons.
Quote from Fujigas:
Indoor Trial World Championship 2005
Round 12 |
Final Lap |
1. |
Adam Raga |
Gas Gas |
8 |
2. |
Albert Cabestany |
Sherco |
12 |
3. |
Jeroni Fajardo |
Gas Gas |
27 |
Qualificarion Lap |
1. |
Adam Raga |
Gas Gas |
11 |
2. |
Albert Cabestany |
Sherco |
16 |
3. |
Jeroni Fajardo |
Gas Gas |
18 |
4. |
Takahisa Fujinami |
Repsol Montesa-HRC |
19 |
5. |
Dougie Lampkin |
Repsol Montesa-HRC |
24 |
6. |
Marc Freixa |
Repsol Montesa-HRC |
24 |
7. |
Tadeusz Blazusiak |
Gas Gas |
32 |
Point Standings |
1. |
Adam Raga |
116 |
2. |
Albert Cabestany |
88 |
3. |
Jeroni Fajardo |
61 |
4. |
Dougie Lampkin |
59 |
5. |
Takahisa Fujinami |
56 |
6. |
Marc Freixa |
43 |
7. |
Toni Bou |
14 |
8. |
Tadeusz Blazusiak |
10 |
9. |
Jerome Bethune |
5 |
10. |
Steve Colley |
2 |
11. |
Shaun Morris |
1 |
12. |
Michele Orizio |
1 |
13. |
Fumitaka Nozaki |
1 |
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