Toni Bou opens the world championship with a win in Japan

Toni Bou gets his world championship title defence underway in Japan with a hard-fought victory. Repsol Honda Team come away with noteworthy results; besides Bou, Fujinami and Busto also occupy top positions.

Repsol Honda Team and Toni Bou have opened the FIM Trial World Championship with a bang at the Japanese GP. Bou was back in the title fray, on cracking form, in a race that saw the Honda ace mark the difference from the first hazard, although it was a far from easy task as the high-level performances of the adversaries never let the Spaniard relax a moment. The triumph – in the first of the two Japanese GP events at the Motegi circuit – positions the champion at the head of the provisional leader-board.

Takahisa Fujinami was finally back in action for this twentieth season, after a knee injury necessitated an operation at the close of last season, followed by a lengthy period of convalescence. Any doubts about the Repsol Honda Team whiz’s physical shape were soon dispelled after he was able to successfully tackle all twelve sections to take fourth place on the day.

It was also a brilliant top-category debut for Repsol Honda Team rookie Jaime Busto, who finished in a magnificent sixth place and could have done even better had it not been for several errors on a final lap made complicated as conditions deteriorated.

Tomorrow riders look forward to the second day of the Japanese Trial GP at the Motegi circuit with three laps of twelve sections.