3-4/7/2004 |
World
Trial Championship Round 7 Aprica, Italy |
The
World Trial Championship traveled to the foot of Alps for round 7.
The round was held in Aprica in Northern Italy, where the area is very
famous for sports resorts. Elevation of the city is high - 1,200 meters.
The sections were dotted from the city to the mountains - 1,200 to
2,100 meters in elevation. Lean air conditions provided tough work
for the team when setting the carbs, and difficult physical preparation
for the competitors as well.
Day 1 - Saturday, July 3rd
Fuji was very disappointed at his result
on Saturday, because he knew he had a good chance to win it. Still
the result wasn't so bad as he stretched his championship lead 2 points
more - from 14 to 16. Fuji regretted that he couldn't exploit his opportunities.
Playing
it safely, Fuji had 7 single point penalties on lap1. Lampkin and
Raga on the other hand, suffered with some bigger penalty points.
Fuji had the lowest penalty points and finished on top for lap1.
Fuji
had early lead of the day and went on to lap2. But at section 11
he made his first major mistake of the day and added 3 points.
He marked 4 consecutive cleans for the rest of the lap to finish
the day.
The world champion, Lampkin, needed to turn
the thing around in Italy. Finishing 7th in the previous round was
a very disappointing
and
costly result for him, it was his mission to win in Italy. Lampkin
kept charging
and won the day by 1 point.
It wasn't a good day for Raga, who
had moved up to 2nd place in the ranking at the previous round. He
struggled that day and
finished
in 3rd place. As a result, Lampkin and Raga tied in points,
and Lampkin
moved back into 2nd place in the championship because of the
number of wins.
Fuji had never lost the game when he was
on his rhythm this year. Losing on Saturday somehow reminded him of
his
previous
seasons.
When the
day was over, Fuji carefully reflected on the previous games
to get ready for the battle on Sunday. It gave him confidence
that
he would
win. Day 2 - Sunday, July 4th
Some of the sections were modified for Sunday,
because they didn't give much trouble to the top riders to mark single
digit penalty for a lap. Conditions also changed on Sunday; all the
sections became more demanding as a whole.
Fuji made the first mistake
of the day at section 4. It was also the first five he had for the
round. He failed to climb up the rock, which
he described as a pitiful mistake. He also thought it could be a
decisive mistake. He went on and by marking some cleans, he kept his
points
low. Meanwhile, Fuji's closest competitors had their own troubles
and kept adding points. Eventually Fuji managed to catch up. Fuji was
showing
his great ride on Sunday, but he also made some mistakes too. It
was the case when he fived at section 10 and 11. Fuji had 3 fives and
1
point at section 7. Fuji managed to finish the lap at the top.
It
was Kenichi Kuroyama who led the field until section 13. The news
didn't upset Fuji at all, because Kuroyama wasn't his threat for
the title at that stage. Fuji thought that as long as he was ahead
of his
rivals, he would be happy to finish 2nd to Kuroyama if he had to.
It kept Fuji from being nervous for the battle, and it was one
of contributions
to his victory on the lap too.
Fuji started lap 2 by making a five
at the very first section. Section 1 was easy and considered as a
clean section for the top
riders.
Josep, Fuji's minder couldn't believe the mistake his rider made
and froze.
Fuji went to Josep and laughed to bring his minder back to reality.
It was a kind of mistake Fuji had to laugh at indeed.
Still it
was a dangerous mistake for the battle of victory. But at the same
time, it gave Fuji a chance to brace himself up for
the
rest of the day. Sure enough, Lampkin climbed up ahead of Fuji
one time,
but Fuji showed a solid ride from the middle stage to the end
of the lap. It was the only five he had for the lap, and for
the day,
and
Fuji kept his penalty point lowest to take the victory.
July
4th was the birthday for the late Daijiro Kato. Fuji and he once
pledged together to win their championships; Kato for
motogp
and Fuji
for trials. There was also the delightful news that Makoto
Tamada won his first motogp race in Brazil too. Two good
birthday presents
for
Kato É~ the victories that Kato always loved. Quote from Fujigas:
I was very disappointed to finish 2nd on Saturday. I knew I had
a good chance but I couldn't pull it through. I had the same
result in Andorra, but it was totally opposite - fighting to
get 2nd. This time I blew it. I managed to win on Sunday, and
I extended my championship lead. The results weren't too bad.
It was Dai-chan's birthday on Sunday. I was happy that I could dedicate
my victory to him as a birthday present. But I felt like he helped
me a lot this time.
Now we have only 2 rounds-3 days left for the season, and I am beginning
to think about the championship. But again, I don't need to learn
how to calculate the numbers. If I keep riding and winning like I
have been able to do so far this year, it will fall into place.
2004
World Trial Championship
Round 7 Aprica, Italy |
Saturday |
1. |
Dougie Lampkin |
11 (8+3) 23 |
2. |
Takahisa Fujinami |
12 (7+5) 20 |
3. |
Adam Raga |
25 (17+8) 21 |
4. |
Marc Freixa |
25 (18+7) 20 |
5. |
Albert Cabestany |
36 (21+15) 14 |
6. |
Kenichi Kuroyama |
37 (24+13) 15 |
Sunday |
1. |
Takahisa Fujinami |
28 (16+12) 20 |
2. |
Dougie Lampkin |
35 (18+17) 17 |
3. |
Kenichi Kuroyama |
35 (19+16) 14 |
4. |
Marc Freixa |
38 (21+17) 13 |
5. |
Adam Raga |
48 (22+26) 13 |
6. |
Albert Cabestany |
51 (31+20) 13 |
Ranking |
1. |
Takahisa Fujinami |
230 |
2. |
Dougie Lampkin |
211 |
3. |
Adam Raga |
205 |
4. |
Albert Cabestany |
162 |
5. |
Marc Freixa |
149 |
6. |
Jeroni Fajardo |
128 |
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