Repsol Honda Team riders Toni Bou, Takahisa Fujinami and Jaime Busto have an appointment with the The 2015 FIM Trial World Championship will take place this weekend in the Czech city of Sokolov, where the second round of the 2015 FIM Trial World Championship will take place. The Grand Prix of the Czech Republic is the first of three consecutive GPs that the team will face looking to continue in the good line started in Japan and that can begin to define the riders who will fight for the title.
Toni Bou achieved the double in Japan, the opening round, and leads the provisional classification. After the test held at Motegi Circuit, Bou is eight points clear of the second-placed rider in the overall standings, and in Sokolov he will be looking to write his name on the list of winners of the Czech GP for the first time, where the Repsol Honda Team rider finished in second and third place, but has yet to win in any of his four starts.
For his part, Takahisa Fujinami was reunited with the podium at his home event and will be looking for continuity in this second GP. In Japan, ‘Fujigas’ achieved a second place on the second day, which was enough to place him in third place in the table.
The third rider of the Repsol Honda Team, Jaime Busto, was one of the standout riders in the opening of the World Championship, as the rookie in the top category finished in sixth position on both days. This weekend, the Basque will be looking to continue improving his level.
The Sokolov Trial will have a route of about 10 kilometers in which there will be twelve sections and which will have to be done three laps to complete the day. The competition will be played on both Saturday and Sunday in separate scores.
· Toni Bou reached 100 podiums in the World Championship with the two victories in the 2015 Japanese GP.
· ‘Fujigas’ climbed to his 151st podium in Japan. He has accumulated 280 trials in the World Championship and, of them, 278 finished in the top 15.
· Jaime Busto was the Junior champion who had the best debut in the World Championship with his two sixth positions in the Japanese GP.
· The first time the World Cup was held in the Czech Republic (then Czechoslovakia), was in 1975, in Ricany.
· Sokolov is the fifth Czech town to host the Trial World Championship after Ricany, Topol’Cany, Nepomuk and Kramolin. It is the first time that the top competition visits this city.
· In 1976, the winner was Ulf Karlsson at the controls of a Montesa Cota. The Swedish rider won the Trial World Championship title in the same city in 1980.
· Other riders from the Montesa factory team have taken victories in the Czech Republic: Marc Colomer (1996, 1997-1, 1997-2 and 1998-1) and Dougie Lampkin (2000-1 and 2000-2).
Toni Bou
We arrive at the second round of the World Championship in the lead, it’s very important, but that means almost nothing; The season has only just begun and this year will be very long and difficult. We will have to be very attentive in every race. We don’t know what we’ll find in the Czech Republic, but we have to be focused and trust that the work we’re doing continues to pay off.
Takahisa Fujinami
The race in Japan was very important for me, we didn’t know how the knee would respond after the operation and I was a bit nervous because it was the first race of 2015. Luckily everything went well and I finished on the podium, so I’m very happy. Now we’ll see how it goes in the Czech Republic. We don’t know anything about this new place but I would like to open this new location with another podium.
Jaime Busto
I’m going to try to continue in the positive line of Japan, a GP that was better than I expected, and keep learning, which is what this first year in the top category is all about. We assume that the sections will be slippery, so I will have a good opportunity to learn how to ride the bike in difficult conditions.
