April 14 marked the 20th anniversary of Takahisa Fujinami’s arrival at the Trial World Championship. After 18 seasons in the top 5, the likeable Japanese rider of the Repsol Honda Team continues to remain among the world’s elite and faces a very special year with the start of the series in Japan, at home.
In 1996, in addition to the Olympic Games being held in Atlanta, and Damon Hill being proclaimed Formula 1 champion, Mike Doohan in 500, Max Biaggi in 250 and Haruchika Aoki in 125, we discovered the Spice Girls or Los del Río released their global hit “Macarena”, Takahisa Fujinami made his debut in the Trial World Championship. 20 years later, the Repsol Honda rider is still active in the top competition, having achieved a mark that is difficult to match: 18 years among the top 5 classified in the World Championship. The 2004 champion continues to make history. Next weekend he begins his twentieth season in the World Championship.
PR: How do you remember your first participation in the Trial World Championship 20 years ago?
TF:
For me, Tarrés, Colomer or Lampkin were idols because I had seen them in magazines and videos; I hadn’t seen them run. Jordi was a hero to me and competing with all of them was fascinating. I had been Japanese champion the year before, but I knew I still lacked a lot of technique. In the first race I did very badly, but I learned a lot and in the second I finished sixth and I was super-happy. Everything was very positive, I wasn’t afraid at all and I gave everything to compete in the World Cup. But that first year was very hard. Especially since I was alone with my father, I didn’t have a mechanic or backpacker when the other riders had several backpackers… and even a cook! I thought that if I got to the top 5 straight away I could do a lot more and be like them.
PR: You joined a team that included Marc Colomer, who would end up winning the world title that year.
TF:
Yes, I was riding the same bike, a prototype, as Colomer. And the first year I finished well, 7th in the world championship. Marc won the title and I, on my debut, was 7th at the age of 16. I was very happy.
PR: Despite being an inexperienced rider in the World Championship, and at the age of 16, you finished seventh in your first World Championship and in the following season you got into the front group. Your improvement was immediate.
TF:
Yes, but it wasn’t easy. In 1999, the year of my first runner-up, Dougie was always ahead: out of 20 races, he won 18 and there was no chance of challenging him for the title. There was a lot of difference in level between him and the rest. I only had one chance to be champion in 2003, where I was very competitive. I won more races than him and the title wasn’t decided until the last moment. It was very hard for me because I lost him.
PR: At the end of your second season in the World Championship you already won your first World Championship race.
TF:
It was my second year at the World Cup and I was 17 years old. My backpacker Shinji Murata, who was coming from Japan had a major accident the day before the race. They took him to the hospital and I insisted that he go back to Japan for a better check-up because he had lost consciousness. I was on my own and it was Oscar Giró who backpacked on that run. We understood each other in Spanish, well, everything was very basic, but I was very motivated because it was as if I were Marc Colomer… It was a shame for Murata, but, it was a pleasant surprise for me to win the race; I went without pressure and in the end I won. Second was Kenichi and third was Jordi Tarrés. The second victory took much longer to come.
PR: In 2004 you won the title and became the first Japanese rider to win a title in Trial, a momentous event for you and for Honda.
TF:
Yes. Honda has always helped me a lot throughout my career in the World Championship. And for Honda, the fact that a Japanese rider won the World Championship was also very important, as they had not won many Japanese riders so far. It was a great success.
PR: You’ve boxed with four World Champions: Marc Colomer, Dougie Lampkin, Toni Bou and also Laia Sanz. What can you say about each of your teammates?
TF:
Marc Colomer was the first teammate, we got along well, but we didn’t get along as well as Dougie and Toni. With Dougie, out of the races, we met and had a very “good vibe”, and with Toni as well. I’d almost say he’s more than a friend. I don’t think I’ve ever had any problems with any of my teammates. Not even with Laia, who is a great friend. She has a great level and it’s impressive what she’s achieved.
PR: The 2015 World Cup starts in Japan next weekend.
TF: The fact that the World Championship starts at home means “maximum pressure”. But I also think I have a bit of an advantage because the Japanese fans are with me to get another win. It will be very important to have a good race and fight to win. There’s a lot of pressure, but at the same time, racing at home motivates you a lot. In Japan I got very good results, we know what the sections will be like: demanding and very hard, but for the ‘Fujigas’ style they are the best.
PR: How did you get the nickname ‘Fujigas’?
TF: It was in my first year, in the first race, Madrid. There was a very difficult area, with a big wall that no one could climb. I hit it all the way and I went overboard. A spectator asked me the name and I said: Fujinami. And he said no, it was Fuji-Gas. And because I liked it, I immediately adopted the nickname: Fuji-Gas!
PR: What will you remember most about the World Cup?
TF:
Several races, but one of them, in the United States: it was raining a lot and the weather was tight. The areas were flooded and my bike got wet. I had to stop, disassemble the bike and get the water out. I kept going, did very well and won a very tough race! Normally, in the United States, I’ve always done well! And also in Japan: two years ago, in Motegi, we were tied with Fajardo until the last section. I heard over the PA system that I had a chance to win and people started cheering me on: it was incredible.
PR: Good luck in your 20th season!
TF: I never imagined that I would end up celebrating 20 years in the Trial World Championship! I’m 35 years old, and ten years ago I thought that at 31 or 32 it would be time to start thinking about retirement… But to see that at my age I can still compete in the World Championships, it’s very motivating. I’m not that old yet!
TAKAHISA FUJINAMI’S MILESTONES
• 18 years in the top 5 of the Trial World Championship
• Driver with the most World Championship appearances (278)
• Youngest rider to win a World Championship round (17a7m25d)
• 2nd youngest rider to achieve a podium in the World Championship (17a4m12d)
TONI BOU -FUJIGAS TEAMMATE SINCE 2007, 8 TIMES WORLD CHAMPION-
For me, ‘Fuji’ has been an idol. I’ve admired him since I was little. I saw him when he became champion and I have always seen him as a great fighter with a great style. I think all riders have to learn a lot from him, from his constant desire to fight. His career has not been easy, but I am convinced that he will continue to fight in every race, putting the same desire as when he started twenty years ago.
I’ve been lucky enough to see him, to compete with him and now to be a good friend. ‘Fuji’ has helped me a lot in many races. Even though our relationship wasn’t direct or easy, little by little we’ve become great friends, having a lot of fun. He doesn’t look like your typical Japanese. Racing and traveling have helped a lot, and there will be a great friendship between us and great memories that have made us spend some nights unable to sleep from laughter…
DOUGIE LAMPKIN -FUJIGAS TEAMMATE FROM 2000 TO 2006, 7 TIMES WORLD CHAMPION-
So my great friend and long-time rival has reached 20 years of the Trial World Championship! Wow!
I remember when he arrived in Europe I didn’t think he would be a big problem for me in the World Championship, he was wild and out of control but as time went by, he learned, watched and trained harder than anyone else, and after finishing second for a long time, he got the well-deserved title of Trial World Champion in 2004. It made me happy that my streak of titles was cut short by him, because after seeing him after the last race in 2003, where the title was decided, it was my last title, he was a broken man and he was crying because it hurt him so much to lose. In 2004 he was a man on a mission and his dream came true: World Champion.
We were teammates from 2000 to 2006, and in those six years we’ve spent a lot of training and traveling together; It was a lot of fun and we have a lot of great moments and experiences to look back on.
I’ve raced Fuji for about fifteen years and we’ve had hardly any problems – and the few times we did we fixed it straight away. He is still pushing hard both in training and in competition, which shows how determined, strong, dedicated and professional he is and why he has so many fans all over the world.
MARC COLOMER – FUJIGAS’ TEAMMATE FROM 1996 TO 2000, 1996 WORLD CHAMPION
It’s been so long since the first trial of the World Championship that I coincided with Fujinami that I almost don’t remember! but I remember well that the year he arrived was 1996, the year I won the title of World Champion with Montesa. Throughout the year I was telling myself, I don’t know if it was to motivate me or what, that I would end up winning the title.
In the beginning, it had a very special way of riding: with a lot of throttle. I immediately noticed that he adapted very quickly to the World Cup and the European style. Kuroyama was ahead, but he was very young and had a very aggressive riding form, which went very well for him at the beginning. And that’s where Fujigas came from.
I haven’t had a great relationship with him, even though we were on the same team. But he has always been a rider who has been very integrated with the sport and with the culture “here”. I was struck by how well he integrated into Catalonia. About him, I also highlight that he trained a lot. Much more than all of us. He had an enormous capacity for sacrifice and training.
LAIA SANZ, FUJIGAS’ TEAMMATE FROM 2004 TO 2011, 13 TIMES WOMEN’S TRIAL WORLD CHAMPION,
Of ‘Fuji’ I can only say that he is one of the best friends. When I arrived at the team maybe it was a little more closed, and that imposed a lot, but little by little it opened up and also, winning the world title and coinciding with the fact that he became a father for the first time, it was much friendlier.
As an athlete he is very hardworking and demanding, and with an incredible capacity for suffering. I’ve seen him suffer many times, with injuries, but he’s always overcome. He’s also very funny and horny, and someone I admire a lot. Perhaps he does not have the gift that Bou and Cabestany may have, but he has been fighting with them for many years; The fact that a rider has been at the top of the World Championship for 20 years says it all about him. It has survived different generations of riders, styles and regulations, and here it is!
I’m lucky enough to have a signed helmet of his that I keep in my living room. Congratulations, Fuji!
