Bou and Fujinami on the podium in Japan
By TMX Archives on 24th Apr 16
The two Repsol Honda riders made it onto the rostrum after a tough trial at the Japanese GP.
The result was an overwhelming triumph for Toni Bou in the Japanese Grand Prix. The world champion shone on the second day in a performance, which in many ways, mirrored his success here last season.
Rain during the night forced race authorities to modify some of the sections making them more manageable.
For this reason Toni Bou, feeling in better physical shape, was able to overcome any setbacks.
By halfway point on the first lap Bou had already taken control, holding the first position which he then maintained throughout the rest of the three laps of the 12 section course, improving each time around.
Takahisa Fujinami celebrated a 300th World Trial championship appearance with another podium finish. In a determined effort and one that differed from previous performances, the Japanese rider rode a precise and focused trial that saw him narrowly miss out on the second step of the rostrum.
The Motegi circuit is something of a talisman for ‘Fujigas': the Repsol Honda Team rider has obtained a total of 26 podium finishes there. Over the course of the 300 world championship trials, the veteran has accumulated 4103 points, with 295 finishes within the top 15 finishers and a total of 155 podiums (32 wins, 55 second places and 68 third places).
Basque rider Jaime Busto comes away from the trial unsatisfied after having hoped to make it onto the podium in Motegi.
However, in spite of a brief spell where he notched up a lot of marks including four faults in four sections, the young rider has otherwise performed at the same high level as trial's top guns.
The next trial in the FIM Trial World Championship will take place in Germany on the May 28/29, in the town of Gefrees.
