Toni Bou clinches the first of the two trials held in Japan. Japanese rider Takahisa Fujinami, also made it onto the rostrum in third spot, sealing Repsol Honda Team’s first double in 2019.

The first day of competition at the TrialGP of Japan proved to be a complicated affair. The rain made a re-appearance, wreaking havoc with the terrain and making for a tricky task for all the riders starting from the rear end of the field including Toni Bou. Despite the difficulty, the Repsol Honda Team ace was able to mark the difference and was rewarded with another victory, the seventeenth to date at the Motegi Twin Ring.

Takahisa Fujinami, with a swift pace, seemed at ease and was able to finish the day with a noteworthy third place to complete the Repsol Honda Team double – a feat not achieved since last year’s Belgium GP. This first podium of the season was, in part, fruit of the tremendous support received from the local crowd at ever corner of the route. Takahisa Fujinami takes his tally of podiums on home soil in Trial World Championship events to twenty-eight.

Tomorrow, Sunday, sees the second day of the competition, where Bou and Fujinami hope to be back on the podium. The trial covers the same route, but with the starting order in the reverse order of today’s classification.

Toni Bou

TRIAL: 1st STANDINGS: 1st

Today I am very satisfied, since it was a complicated trial with conditions that varied throughout the day. It was raining, then it stopped raining... so it was especially complicated on the second lap where it had stopped raining right before the difficult sections. It is always very important to win here in Japan, at Honda, so I am very happy, especially after not having been able to win in either of the two days last season. I am also very pleased that my partner Fujinami got onto the podium; He has worked hard all winter and he deserves it. Tomorrow, I think it will be a different trial with lower scores, the terrain should dry out as there are no predictions of rain, so we'll see. We'll try to give everything.

Takahisa Fujinami

TRIAL: 3º STANDINGS: 4th

This year I feel great physically and I had been hoping for a podium in Italy but finally it has arrived here in Japan. I am very happy, getting on the podium in front of my Japanese fans is very important for me. It is also important for Honda, so I’m even happier. This double podium means a lot for the whole team who have worked so hard and it is a great motivation to continue along this track. Tomorrow we will continue working to try to get back on the podium.

Private: Miquel Cirera

Team Manager

I want to congratulate our two riders who had a great trial today, Toni for the victory and the podium for Fujinami. This result is very important for Fujigas: it will give him strength for the rest of the season. Thanks also to all the team because today was not easy. Tomorrow looks likely to also be a difficult race, so we will give it everything and try to get back onto the podium. We are lucky that this season we started with the two riders both in really strong physical condition and without any injuries. We will try to keep up this strong start.

TrialGP 2019
Trial Round TGP2 , Race   Motegi

TrialGP of Japan Day 1 2019 results

Pos. Rider Num Nation L1 L2 L3 T3 Champ Team Constructor Points
1 Bou Toni 1 SPA 19 26 3 20 Repsol Honda Team Montesa 48
2 Raga Adam 67 SPA 36 31 4 17 TRRS Factory Team TRRS 71
3 Fujinami Takahisa 6 JPN 39 35 1 15 Repsol Honda Team Montesa 75
4 Dabill James 22 GBR 43 34 2 13 Beta Factory Racing Beta 79
5 Kadlec Franz 66 GER 43 48 2 11 TRRS Factory Team TRRS 93
6 Busto Jaime 69 SPA 56 38 4 10 Vertigo Factory Team Vertigo 98
7 Casales Jorge 33 SPA 53 45 0 9 Vertigo Factory Team Vertigo 98
8 Gelabert Miquel 9 SPA 54 44 3 8 Sherco Factory Team Sherco 101
9 Price Jack 34 GBR 50 54 0 7 Gas Gas Gas Gas 104
10 Bincaz Benoit 73 FRA 56 48 3 6 Beta Factory Racing Beta 107
11 Kuroyama Kenichi 98 JPN 52 56 0 5 Yamaha Racing Yamaha 108
12 Peace Dan 38 GBR 52 60 2 4 Sherco Factory Team Sherco 114
13 Nozaki Fumitaka 99 JPN 57 58 3 3 Yamaha Racing Yamaha 118
14 Ogawa Tomoyuki 97 JPN 66 54 0 2 Honda Honda 120
Location Information

Race format 12 sections x 2 laps

Twin Ring Motegi, Haga District, Tochigi Prefecture, Japan - View in Google Maps

Records

Podium 2019 -day2- Toni Bou - Adam Raga - Takahisa Fujinami
Podium 2019 -day1- Toni Bou - Adam Raga - Takahisa Fujinami
Podium 2018 -day2- Jaime Busto - Toni Bou - Adam Raga
Podium 2018 -day1- Jeroni Fajardo - Adam Raga - Takahisa Fujinami
Podium 2017 -day2- Toni Bou - Adam Raga - Albert Cabestany
Podium 2017 -day1- Toni Bou - James Dabill - Takahisa Fujinami
Podium 2016 -day2- Toni Bou - Adam Raga - Takahisa Fujinami
Podium 2016 -day1- Adam Raga - Toni Bou - Takahisa Fujinami
Podium 2015 -day2- Toni Bou - Takahisa Fujinami - Jeroni Fajardo
Podium 2015 -day1- Toni Bou - Jeroni Fajardo - Adam Raga
Podium 2014 -day2- Adam Raga - Toni Bou - Albert Cabestany
Podium 2014 -day1- Adam Raga - Toni Bou - Takahisa Fujinami