BOU IN CONTROL
Italy
This was a very challenging opening round which was affected by the heavy rain in the area making the hazards exceptionally slippery. The rain had stopped on ‘race’ day and the abundance of rocks was initially at their very worst as the mud was carried onto them, but they did dry out a little around midday.
With the start times decided by the ballot after the qualifying fiasco, Jeroni Fajardo had the very difficult task of opening the hazards. Riding at his maximum level he suffered with some of the earlier observers’ decisions, and second position was a superb result considering the situation.
The defending champion Toni Bou was looking very confident and the two lap scores showed he is still very much at the top of his game. After the opening lap the two remaining podium positions were very much open to six riders, as Bou further increased his advantage parting with just four marks on lap two.
Fajardo held his nerve to push Adam Raga into third in the closing stages as Benoit Bincaz used his starting position at the back of the field to his advantage with a fourth-placed finish.
RESULTS: 1: Toni Bou (Repsol Honda-ESP) 33; 2: Jeroni Fajardo (Gas Gas-ESP) 61; 3: Adam Raga (TRRS-ESP) 66; 4: Benoit Bincaz (Beta-FRA) 86; 5: Jamie Busto (Vertigo-ESP) 88; 6: Takahisa Fujinami (Repsol Honda-JPN) 96; 7: Miquel Gelabert (Sherco-ESP) 105; 8: Franz Kadlec (TRRS-DEU) 111; 9: James Dabill (Beta-GBR) 112; 10: Oriol Noguera (Jotagas-ESP) 114; 11: Jack Price (Gas Gas-GBR) 117; 12: Arnau Farre (JotagasESP) 126; 13: Jorge Casales (Vertigo-ESP) 128; 14: Dan Peace (Sherco-GBR) 129; 15: Andrea Riva (TRRS-ITA) 142.
Japan: Day one
After the heavy rain of qualifying the terrain had not dried out as the riders set off in overcast conditions. Nerves at this level of riding always seem to affect a few of the riders, which was reflected in the opening lap scores.
Toni Bou was the strongest starter and as the lap progressed the rain came again at section five as the defending world champion was the only rider to find a way through the hazard with a brilliant singlemark attempt. At the close of the lap he held a commanding 17-mark lead. The majority of the hazards are on steep wooded hillsides with a granite type of rock in them. These got no better as the rain stopped but the mud carried onto the rocks, which forced Bou to part with a run of four five-mark penalties. He was still the clear winner, but behind him it was much closer.
Adam Raga used all his experience to keep Takahisa Fujinami in third place as Great Britain’s James Dabill showed his skills when wheel grip was hard to find, to claim fourth. Jeroni Fajardo rounded off the top five.
RESULTS: 1: Bou 48; 2: Raga 71; 3: Fujinami 75; 4: Dabill 79; 5: Fajardo 81; 6: Kadlec 93; 7: Busto 98; 8: Casales 98; 9: Gelabert 101; 10: Price 104; 11: Bincaz 107; 12: Kenichi Kuroyama (Yamaha-JPN) 108; 13: Peace 114; 14: Fumitaka Nozaki (Yamaha-JPN) 118; 15: Tomoyuki Ogawa (Honda-JPN) 120.
Japan: Day two
It was a much drier start for day two, as the sun shone through the clouds which still hung around all day. With Toni Bou riding at the very back based on his win on day one he was to give the trials world a riding demonstration that we had not seen since Portugal in 2010, he went around the 30 hazards parting with no marks; yes, a ‘clean’ day!
With Bou in such dominating form the event was all about the final two places on the podium. After the first lap, Fujinami was a single mark in front of Raga, much to the delight of the Japanese fans, but on the second lap it was TRRS mounted Raga who put the hammer down. On any other day his single-lap score of four marks lost would have been incredible, but what it did do was secure the runner-up spot as ‘Fujigas’ made the podium a repeat of day one.
James Dabill was edged off the podium for the second time, with Jorge Casales just a single mark behind. Securing two strong careerbest finishes was Germany’s Franz Kadlec in sixth position.
RESULTS: 1: Bou 0; 2: Raga 20; 3: Fujinami 31; 4: Dabill 37; 5: Casales 38; 6: Kadlec 41; 7: Busto 47; 8: Gelabert 49; 9: Fajardo 54; 10: Price 57; 11: Bincaz 63; 12: Peace 70; 13: Kuroyama 72; 14: Ogawa 85; 15: Nozaki 86.
Netherlands
Very much a man on form, the man-made hazards found at this wellorganised event had Toni riding at his very best. On a short, compact course it was always going to be the time element that would keep the riders moving.
As it has been on so many occasions in the past, it was Adam Raga who took the early lead, as Bou parted with his only mark in section four on his opening lap. Adam stopped in section eight to record a five, and section nine was scrapped on this opening lap when a rock came loose. As Bou closed his lap he was awarded six time penalties as Raga was also three minutes late.
Third-placed Jeroni Fajardo had two consistent lap scores, along with five on time. The hazards in the strong heat became quite slippery as the dust was carried onto them but, as we have seen in the past, the scores came down for the second tour of the 15 hazards.
The battle for the next three places was fought out between Fujinami, Busto and Casales. ‘Fujigas’ won the battle and retained his third position in the championship.
RESULTS: 1: Bou 6; 2: Raga 14; 3: Fajardo (Gas Gas-ESP) 19; 4: Fujinami 27; 5: Busto 28; 6: Casales 32; 7: Dabill 50; 8: Kadlec 52; 9: Bincaz 59; 10: Price 62; 11: Riva 71; 12: Noguera 75; 13: Gelabert 81; 14: Farre 101; 15: Peace 103.
Belgium
This was always going to be a tough event, but then throw in an exceptionally hot day and two riders at the very top of their game.
Toni Bou is the rider constantly under attack as the one to beat, both Jeroni Fajardo and Adam Raga see this as a target. In Belgium, it was Fajardo’s turn to challenge the defending champion. Time would be tight as always, but these two warriors both lost just one mark each on the opening lap. As one rider parted with marks the other took the advantage, and this was the story until section 14 when Bou fived the hazard giving Jeroni a three-mark advantage as the lap closed. The second lap literally went to the steep final hazard overlooking the old market town as Bou rode at the very top of his game with an impossible full-on no-stop attack at the hazard to record a clean and take the victory.
The final step on the podium was a close match played out between Raga, Fujinami and Busto, with Raga getting the ‘nod’ by a single mark from Fujinami. The question is who can stop Toni Bou?
RESULTS: 1: Bou 33; 2: Fajardo 36; 3: Raga 72; 4: Fujinami 73; 5: Busto 78; 6: Casales 82; 7: Bincaz 95; 8: Dabill 98; 9: Kadlec 106; 10: Gelabert 112; 11: Farre 117; 12: Peace 117; 13: Price 118.