The most controversial Trial Grand Prix in living memory, It has resulted in the distribution of points for the main favourites and a significant cut of points by Adam Raga the reigning champion, Toni Bou, after Gas Gas’ victory on Sunday and managed to put local driver Takahisa Fujinami between him and his rival.
Neither of the two days were easy for the riders on Japanese terrain, as the humidity of the terrain and the adverse weather conditions significantly increased the difficulty of the sections, consequently fattening the drivers’ cards more than usual. The organisers even lowered the level in six of the fifteen sections that made up the course, but the increase in rain and fog throughout the second lap made things very complicated. This fact had been much discussed in other races, where the apparent ease of the sections made it very difficult for the “top” drivers to close the gap in the face of a possible mistake and significantly limited the possibilities of spectacle on the part of the drivers.
On the second day of the Japan GP, Raga dominated with an iron fist, showing himself relentless and accurate in the passage through the 30 zones. In fact, we can say that Raga is the great protagonist of Japan, since on the first day he was only one point behind Bou, while on the second he has scored 20 points against his main rival.
According to Montesa’s press release, Bou blamed excessively having to open the areas on the second day in a terrain that they call “little less than impracticable”.
In the race, Fujinami was the leader of the race until the tenth section, at which time he had a knee injury as a result of a heavy fall. From this point on, it was Raga who dominated the race until the end of it. Bou’s problems began in the seventh zone, where he left a fiasco, and in the consecutive ones until the eleventh, where he committed some kind of penalty, while Raga signed “zeros” in all of them. In the overall calculation of the first lap, the Gas Gas rider finished with 20 points, to 22 for Fujinami and 30 for Bou. Behind the leading trio, a little further away, Kuroyama and Brown with 35 and 40, respectively.
With these records , the race was practically doomed. To cut 10 points in such a complex race was difficult. The key would be to solve the most difficult sections of the race, which were 3, 4 and 5. Bou managed to cut five points off his two rivals in this group of zones, provisionally placing himself 3 points behind Fujinami and 5 behind Raga. However The rider from Montesa again had problems in the second critical group of zones, leaving 9 points more than on the previous lap in the same group of four zones. Faced with this, the reigning champion could do little, who ended up completing the podium with 20 points more than the winner, Adam Raga.
The Gas Gas rider has shown that he can beat Bou on several occasions, but on none with such authority or on such complicated terrain. This is the best thermometer to assess the equality between the main riders who can opt for the title, where we must add Cabestany, who did not participate in the double day of the Japanese race.
Another of the big surprises was the great result achieved by the Japanese riders, atypical in the world championship calendar but who always participate when the “home” GP arrives. We are talking about Kuroyama, who finished in a splendid fourth position; Nozaki, sixth, and Ogawa, seventh. Among them was the British Michael Brown, who had a good race and far surpassed one of his main rivals in the world championship, Jeroni Fajardo. The rider from Ossa had a horrible race, finishing ninth with 111 points and 70 points behind the head of the race; Not a good result for those who are normally fighting for the places of honor. This big mistake by Jeroni could cost him fourth place in the championship, for which he will fight against Cabestany in the double round that remains to be disputed in Issola 2000 (France), missing the excellent opportunity that the Sherco rider had given him by not going to Japan.
In the Junior category, without the representation of the RFME team and without any excitement for the championship, the local rider Nomoto won, followed by the winner of the previous day, the Italian Tournour and completing the podium another local rider: Fujiwara.
In Youth , more of the same. With a poor three-driver turnout, including the main favourite and leader, Jack Sheppard, the result was very clear. The British rider’s double victory allowed him to reach a mathematical outright victory in the Junior World Championship, so we now have the first winner of the year. Congratulations to Jack!
Read the chronicle of the Japanese GP Day 1
Toni Bou: “I’ve had a very difficult day, to forget. Adam (Raga) has done very well and Takahisa (Fujinami) has also shown to be very strong, despite his injury. Obviously, my result wasn’t what I wanted but it’s good for people to see that winning is not easy and will encourage us to work even harder for the title race. As far as the trip to Japan is concerned, in this country we have always been treated very well but this time I have noticed even more the gratitude for having come”
Takahisa Fujinami: “A first radiological examination has revealed that there is no bone injury but ligament injury, which has conditioned me a lot since my fall. Up until that moment I saw that I could take advantage of my starting position behind Toni (Bou) and Adam (Raga) and, honestly, I think that without the problem in my knee I would have been able to win. With two podiums in my home race, the balance of the weekend
It’s positive.”
Text: Trialworld
