3-4/4/2004 |
World
Trial Championship Round 1 Bangol, Northern Ireland |
Two
consecutive years, the coastal city in Northern Ireland held the opening
round of World Trial Championship. Majority of the hazards were the
same as last year's, but the weather was completely different this
year. It was intermittent rain with occasional hail, which made the
familiar hazards more difficult to conquer.
Day 1 - Saturday, April 3rd
Fujinami won the opening round on Saturday last year. One of the major
contributions to his victory was a steep rock with a short run up.
Fuji scored clean in both laps, and the main competitor Lampkin fived
both times. Fuji managed to build some lead there, and it saved him
when he added some points at later sections. In fact, it is Fuji at
the rock section in the opening flash movie of this web site.
They
had that steep rock in the second section again this year. Fuji marked
1, while Lampkin fived there. Same story this year, and it wasn't a
bad way to start for Fuji. At the section 13, one of other difficult
hazards, Fuji among many other riders fived. Lampkin was the only one
to go through the section entirely in both laps. Yet, he couldn't score
clean either and added two points, it wasn't enough for him to catch
up Fuji then.
Condition-wise, Fuji wasn't in the top form that day. He pushed himself
and rode carefully at each section. In a long and tough battle for
the championship, it's important to derive the best result possible
even things aren't perfect. That's how Fuji was riding that day.
Fuji kept the lead and finished 1st. on lap1. He then started lap2
with 3 points lead over Lampkin. Section 2 came, and again Lampkin
five, where Fuji added 1 point and extended his lead. Fuji added some
points in the later sections, but the cushion he built early on saved
him again this year. Fuji won the season opener by 2 points against
archrival Lampkin for 2 consecutive years.
Day 2 - Sunday
Fuji has never accomplished the perfect victory by winning both Saturday
and Sunday events. Along with a championship hunt, the perfect victory
is the goal Fuji shoots for this year.
At the section 2, Fuji marked 1 point for the lap 1 and 2 for lap2.
Lampkin however bettered himself on Sunday, scoring clean on lap1 and
1 point on lap2. Ironically, the section gave Fuji advantage on Saturday
turned to be a trigger for Lampkin to catch up Fuji on Sunday.
One
of the biggest mistakes for Fuji on lap1 was stalling the engine at
section 12. The section wasn't a big problem for the top riders, and
most of them marked clean. Adding 5 points penalty there hurt Fuji
a lot. In the end, Fuji finished lap1 in the second place, 5 points
behind Lampkin.
Condition on Sunday for Fuji was practically equal to the previous
day, and he didn't feel so comfortable. Finishing 2nd on lap1 and putting
himself into a position to play catch up, Fuji had to sort out his
game plan for lap2 to turn the things around.
However, Lampkin was clearly on the rhythm on Sunday, and he became
even better on lap2. Fuji soon found himself fighting for the 2nd place.
Based on experiences he has learnt through his career, he then shifted
the game plan to protect 2nd place. Although winning is important,
it's pity trying too hard to jeopardize the position he already has
and dropping back farther. Given circumstances, the best result doesn't
always mean winning.
Fuji continued to ride with decent performance on lap2, and he kept
the score low. But Fuji suddenly missed his beat when he arrived at
the section 12. He added huge 13 points from section 12 to 14 (5-5-3).
In contrast on lap1, he added 6 points through the sections, including
5 points with engine stall at section 12. This sudden set back allowed
both Cabestany and Raga moving up ahead of Fuji.
So
after 2 days of tough battles, it was interesting to see the results
were exactly same as last year: 1st and 4th for Fuji and Lampkin had
2nd and 1st. Same results, but it gave Fuji a chance to find out his
weakness and the way to handle the game. He dropped down because of
some failures at late sections, but as far as fighting for the 2nd
place, he did not need to score clean at the sections. He went for
it, but failed and dropped down. Fuji would have kept his 2nd place
if he were able to keep the penalty 5 points less. It was a tough way
to learn the lesson, but hopefully Fuji will show us the difference
with the secrets he learned in Northern Ireland.
Quote from Fujigas:
Winning would be great, but I learned a lot from losing on Sunday.
The results maybe the same as last year's, but it gave me a chance
to realize why I lost it, which I couldn't figure out last year.
I am very frustrated with 4th place, but I say it was satisfying
in many ways. It wasn't a mistake to regret about, but it was a mistake
to learn for the future.
I used to be the guy who couldn't win Day 2 for some reasons. But
please be ready for me, I will be winning Day2, because now I know
how.
2004
World Trial Championship
Round 1 Bangol, Northern Ireland |
Saturday |
1. |
Takahisa Fujinami |
37 (20+17) 14 |
2. |
Doug Lampkin |
39 (23+16) 17 |
3. |
Albert Cabestany |
42 (24+18) 14 |
4. |
Adam Raga |
54 (31+23) 11 |
5. |
Marc Freixa |
58 (37+21) 11 |
6. |
Jeroni Fajardo |
64 (40+24) 11 |
Sunday |
1. |
Doug Lampkin |
22 (11+11) 20 |
2. |
Albert Cabestany |
35 (20+15) 16 |
3. |
Adam Raga |
39 (18+21) 14 |
4. |
Takahisa Fujinami |
40 (16+24) 17 |
5. |
Jeroni Fajardo |
45 (25+20) 11 |
6. |
Marc Freixa |
45 (25+20) 11 |
Ranking |
1. |
Doug Lampkin |
37 |
2. |
Takahisa Fujinami |
33 |
3. |
Albert Cabestany |
32 |
4. |
Adam Raga |
28 |
5. |
Marc Freixa |
21 |
6. |
Jeroni Fajardo |
21 |
In order to use a PDF file,
Acrobat Reader (no charge) is required. Please
click a left banner. |
|
PAGE TOP
|