2010 Trial World Championship Round9

Baldasserona, San Marino - 18/7/2010

Out of Form Down to 5th

Fujinami finished second despite for being the first starter and suffering foot injury in France. A week later in San Marino, he struggled to have his own riding, and he ended with fifth place.

Three days before the ninth round, there was a happy news from Japan about the birth of Fujinami's second child. The baby girl was born on July 15th, and they named her Luna, stands for the moon in Latin.

Fujinami arrived in San Marino feeling blessed but at the same time he had an uncertain feeling toward the competition for the weekend. One week interval was not enough to fix his injured foot, thankfully no broken bone was found, but the damage was found with the ligaments. He spent a quiet week, and he recovered to be able to walk without a big problem, which was a good sign. However, having no practice prior to the competition wasn't encouraging.

Before the event, Fujinami decided to have the buddy tape treatment to protect the injured part. It was though difficult to find the right way as making it too tight hurt and distract the movement. It seemed he had a pain when stretching the foot to the position to extend the Achilles' tendon.

It is very hot in summer in Europe these days, and the event took place in the condition with the temperature reaching 40 degrees. Before the competition, Fujinami went out to prepare the bike to find the suspension set up for the condition as well as finding the best taping method for his foot. He needed to find the compromise to tie it up enough to easy off the pain when riding and not to worsen the condition for his future, yet would not disturb his riding so much. After changing the way to tape for several times, he decided to go with as little taping as possible. It gave him more pain when riding but more movability of the foot. Fujinami, however, could not eliminate the effect of the injury, dropping some points here and there. He tried to forget about the injury and to do the same manner as usual, to enjoy his trial once the competition got going.

One of the symbolic error for Fujinami for the day came at the section9. He was the only rider among the top riders to drop a full mark, or even made a mistake at the section. According to Honda's report, Fujinami made a mistake trying to trace Bou's riding, but it does not describe the case. The riding style of the two riders is very different to begin with, where Bou is easy on the throttle and Fujinami of course is known to be brave of the throttle. At the section, Fujinami chose to keep the front wheel up to ride the multiple steps. Bou, in contrast, put the front wheel to trace every obstacle. Also, it is now no secret that Fujinami does not like the section with multiple steps. He had a trouble riding at such sections in his home round in Motegi too. So, he had a couple of concerns toward the section; it was not the section he knew he was not very good at, and he did not have a confidence to pull it through due to his injury.

Fujinami came back at the section at Lap2 to mark clean after changing his riding. We asked Fujinami if he thought the full mark error at his first attempt was regrettable. Fujinami answered that he accepted it considering the way he performed in the weekend. He struggled a lot for the weekend, and did not have a confidence to stay at the top group. He was happy to finish fifth.

Having Raga finishing second in San Marino, the Spaniard and Fujinami became the joint second in the championship. Fujinami though is not upset with the standing, as he believes that the result will come if he competes each round in the proper way.

The last round in the three consecutive championship weekend, Italian round is next. He wants to try his best in Italy at the given condition and to proceed to the summer break to fix the injury for his strong come back at the final round of the season.

Quote from Fujigas:

I could not perform the way I like at all today. Condition of my foot was a part of the reason, but I was not confident going into the round without any practice. Raga came back up with me in the championship, but I am not aware of standing so much at this point. There will be the summer break after the next round, and I want the break to be a pleasant one with a decent result in Italy. Result of course is important, but what I am seeking now is the riding, which I can fully satisfied with.

pix: Mario Candellone and Agnese Andrione

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