The 2015 Trial World Championship heads to the United States as the competition goes into its final stretch. Repsol Honda Team rider Toni Bou – defending champion and current overall leader – will face a tough challenge.
The riders of Repsol Honda Team will arrive at the world championship’s seventh stop-off at the Stepping Stone Ranch, in the United States, highly motivated and eager to continue the season’s successes.
Toni Bou heads the overall leaderboard with a 28-point advantage and will be particularly fired up at the thought that two wins in the U.S. event could help in his run for a record-breaking ninth championship title with only the GPs of Portugal and Spain still to run.
Repsol Honda Team colleague Takahisa Fujinami shares an equally ambitious goal after a long struggle to overcome a right knee injury. After several partially satisfying results, the ex-champion will again be looking for victory. The United States GP is one of the preferred outings for the Japanese rider who currently lies in fifth in the overall rankings.
Repsol Honda Team rookie, Jaime Busto will be looking forward to the event and is hoping to bring some memento back home from his first visit. Busto holds sixth place overall and picked up his season’s best with a fourth place in the Czech Republic.
Saturday and Sunday’s trials will take place at Stepping Stone Ranch, a park dedicated to trial in Rhode Island. The route on both days will play out over 10 kilometres with 12 sections in each. Riders tackle the circuit three times.
• Toni Bou has triumphed in the U.S.A. on only one occasion. (Sequatchie-2, 2008).
• The U.S.A. GP is the one of those in which Takahisa Fujinami has taken home most honours: 5. He has only achieved more wins in the Japanese GP.
• Jaime Busto has yet to participate in a U.S.A. GP.
• ‘Fujigas’ is now the world championship trial rider with the highest scores accumulated: 4002 points out of 290 races.
• In Takahisa Fujinami’s first year in the world championship in 1996 he finished fourth in the U.S.A. GP, held at the same Stepping Stones Ranch. It was the best result of the season for ‘Fujigas’.
• Toni Bou has taken part in the U.S.A. GP ten times and has been on the podium on six occasions.
• Stepping Stone was where the first trial world championship was held back in 1975. The trial was won by Malcolm Rathmell, on a Montesa Cota 348.
• The last time the championship stopped off in Stepping Stone was in 1996. The winner on that occasion was Marc Colomer, on a Montesa Cota 315 where he would later become the championship winner.
Toni Bou
We have been working really hard recently in preparation for the U.S.A. GP because the season has arrived at such an important point. It’s time to give it everything and not give up just because I haven’t won the last couple of races, but on the contrary, we’ve got to go all out. It will be a really tough test but I hope to get back on the road to victory. It is our goal if we want to win the championship, so in other words, we have to be extremely focused on what we do and not make any mistakes.
Takahisa Fujinami
The final phase of the world championship is beginning and the U.S.A. GP is really important for us. I don’t remember this race too well although I do know that I raced in my first year in the championship and I finished fourth, then later I made it onto the podium. The terrain has got some big rocks on it which is great for the ‘Fujigas’ style. The pre-race sensations are very good and beside the American audience, who understand these things, have always supported me a lot.
Jaime Busto
This is the first time that I have been to the U.S.A so it will be absolutely new. I hope the trial goes well and I’m able to improve on recent results so that I can finish in the best overall position. Sixth is a great position for my first year, but I think that I can still improve on it.
Location Information
Stepping Stone Ranch, Escoheag Hill Road, West Greenwich, RI, United States - View in Google Maps
