As usual, the location is the Twin Ring Motegi circuit, owned by Honda, and the 12 areas that make up the course are located in the vicinity of the speed circuit.
The intensity and equality with which the last edition of the World Cup was lived, with a Adam Raga, who went into the last round with a chance of a title and the growing strength of the main candidates for victory, have fuelled the great expectation of this start of the season. Of particular note is the return of Takahisa Fujinami after a long break to recover from his knee injury, the debut of Jaime Busto and Jorge Casales in the top flight, as well as the long-awaited debut of James Dabill and the new Vertigo away from the uncomfortable format of the Indoor World Championship.
START-UP WITH NO SURPRISES
On Saturday, the first day of competition was held. It didn’t take long for the favourite, Toni Bou, to set a high race pace that only Fajardo could follow. Raga, victim of a fiasco when he touched an arrow, completed his first pass through the 12 zones in third position but with twice as many points as the provisional leader. From behind, with more loaded cards but in a handkerchief, Fujinami, Cabestany, Ferrer, Nozaki and Busto.
Toni Bou was able to continue improving his previous times as the race progressed, which together with Fajardo’s problems on the second lap left the reigning champion on the verge of victory. Raga managed to overcome the mistakes of the first lap, but not enough to hunt down Fajardo, who won a meritorious and hard-fought second position.
After the leading trio, one world behind, finished Fujinami and Cabestany, followed by a great Jaime Busto and Jorge Casales, both ahead of experienced riders with extensive experience in the category. Bravo for them.
Bad first day for James Dabill, thirteenth, who did not achieve the expected efficiency and regularity with his Vertigo. These are distant scores and performances for the British rider, especially when last season he even managed to get on the podium.
On the second day of the race, the scores increased significantly as a result of the toughness of zones 2, 3 and 4, which would be decisive in making differences between the leading riders. Once again, Toni Bou stood out with a significant 17-point lead over his rivals, who signed very even records with each other and hinted at how expensive the podium was going to be. On the second lap Bou struggled to maintain his initial race pace and both Fajardo and Raga managed to cut four points off the leader.
The last lap would be decisive. Bou found his rhythm again and secured his second consecutive victory at the start of the season. The surprise was in charge of Fujinami , who grew up in front of his public, who equaled the record of the winner in the last pass through the zones to overcome Fajardo and Raga, who were relegated to third and fourth position, respectively.
Cabestany finished with only two points more than Raga and after him another fabulous performance by Jaime Busto, who signed two sixth positions in his first season in the top flight.
Of particular note was the withdrawal due to injury of Jorge Casales, with a heavy blow to the foot, and Michael Brown, with a broken kneecap. Much encouragement to both of them in their recovery.
In short, an unbeatable weekend for Toni Bou, who already accumulates eight points ahead of his closest pursuer, Jeroni Fajardo, and benefits from the fact that Raga has not been as successful as he should have if he really wants to put Toni Bou’s crown in trouble. Also noteworthy was Fujinami’s podium after long months of convalescence. On the other hand, the performance of Busto and Casales is surprising, who in addition to talent have shown success.
WORLD CUP
In the World Cup category, equivalent to Junior, the role of the Spanish riders has been fantastic. Despite the fact that the victory on both days has been for the Frenchman from Scorpa Benoit Bincaz, he has been accompanied on the podium by Miquel Gelabert and Oriol Noguera, who have also alternated between them the second and third places, so they leave the Japanese country in a draw. It was a weekend from less to more for Arnau Farré, who ended up coming close to the podium, while Marc Riba had a good start to the season and is beginning to accumulate valuable experience in the category.
In the 125 category the participation has been very poor and only six riders have taken the start. The victory on both days went to the Italian rider Marco Fioletti.
The World Cup will resume in just over a month, specifically on May 30 and 31 in Sokolov (Czech Republic).
RESULTS
SATURDAY 25 APRIL
SUNDAY 26 APRIL
DECLARATIONS
Toni Bou: I’m very happy with this Japanese Grand Prix. I think I had a very good first lap and third. In the second I failed in a couple of areas, but I was able to recover those mistakes. I’m very satisfied with the victories, with how the trial went, with how I went and also with getting two first places at Honda’s home. It’s unbeatable on a great day for the team.
Takahisa Fujinami: The feeling at the end of today is brutal. I am very happy and I want to thank all the doctors who have helped me in the recovery of my knee. Today I felt better, I thought I was failing a lot, but I found that I could be on the podium. For me, zones 6 and 7 were very difficult, but on the last lap I concentrated a lot and pulled out the strength to finish with a point from zone 5. Thank you very much to everyone who has trusted Fujigas!
Jaime Busto: Yes, I’m very happy with how this Japanese Grand Prix went. I’ve done well overall. Today, the start wasn’t very good, I made a bit of a mess on the first lap, but then I was able to recover and I did better. I felt better in the areas, which were much higher today.
Miquel Cirera -Team Manager-: The results for the team could not have been better at the start of the World Championship. Yesterday we finished the day with the desire to improve our results and today we achieved it. We are very happy with Fujinami’s recovery, because it is a second place that tastes like a victory. But of course, the victory went to Toni Bou, leader from the first zone to the end. Although today I think we have to highlight Fujinami, for the effort of all this time. Also highlight Jaime Busto, who is in a good line; We’re happy with this weekend’s results and we want to keep it that way. The Japanese GP has been very positive for the Repsol Honda Team
Adam Raga: “Today was quite a difficult day. The truth is that we are not too satisfied with the result, we missed more than we should have at the beginning of the race and then we were able to come back. There was a moment when we even got into second place, but then two mistakes in the last sections left us fourth. It’s not a good result, but we have to keep going and try to improve for the next rounds of the World Championship.”
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