Bou back on top & Fujinami is 3rd in Great Britain

The young Spaniard once again demonstrated maturity beyond his years as he resisted constant pressure from countryman Adam Raga - Gas Gas, who followed him home in second place. Bou’s teammate, Takahisa Fujinami - Repsol Montesa HRC took the third spot on the podium, having

climbed from fourth at the end of the first lap.

The Hawkstone Park motocross circuit was the venue for the British round of the championship and was basking in two days of bright and sunny weather, amid the UK’s wettest summer for many years. The days leading up to the event were also wet, but the sandy nature of the area meant that any surface water soon drained away. However, heavy rain overnight on Saturday meant that the sections would be damp and the ground soft as the riders began the first of the day’s two laps.

It was a familiar story for the first lap, with Bou and Raga matching each other almost dab for dab. Bou would clean a section while Raga would pick up a mark and vice versa throughout the lap. By the mid-point of the day’s competition, the two were separated by just a single mark. However, on the second lap, both riders five’d section five, but by the end of the competition, Raga made a further two mistakes which meant his challenge for a third victory of the season would go unfulfilled. Fujinami completed the first lap in fourth place, but enjoyed a much better second lap, to come home in third place.

Local hero Dougie Lampkin - Repsol Montesa HRC did not manage to net his 100th World

Championship victory on home soil, though, he admitted that again, his riding was not up to its usual standard and felt that possibly this was the result of the build-up to the event.

However, he still turned-in a typically determined performance and was rewarded with fifth place, tied on points with Albert Cabestany - Sherco Tarragona, but losing out thanks to the same number of cleans, but one less dab.

Toni Bou - 1st :

“Of course, I’m very happy to win again, here in Great Britain.The sections and the trial overall were fairly straightforward, but still, you have to clean the sections. Some of them got easier the second time around, but some got harder. For me, I find it quite difficult when a line begins to emerge, as I’m not used to that in the Spanish championship. It was important to get a good result here, as we now have a one-month break until the next event and there are only two races to go for the championship. I plan to take a little time off before the next round, but not too much, as I will be back in training well before. I know that I cannot underestimate anything - the competition or the remaining trials themselves.”

Takahisa Fujinami - 3rd :

“I was pleased with my riding generally today. However, I made a mistake on each of the two laps and this cost me a better result, I feel. Without these two fives, I would have been second. I pushed through the first lap quite quickly today, because I wanted to ride the sections at my own pace. I know that some of the other riders were under time pressure towards the end and I wanted to avoid that and ride the sections one by one. I think the sections here are nice - when they dry out, they are more fun - a proper trial.”

Dougie Lampkin - 5th :

“Today started off badly and unfortunately, didn’t get any better from there. I really wanted to take my 100th win here on home soil, but I knew that the pressure from Toni and Adam would be immense. I had a big moment on section two, when the sumpguard bottomed-out and I went over the handlebars and then, on the second lap, the exhaust melted the marking tape and I picked up a five. The second lap started well but I picked up a slack five on section nine and then began to make small mistakes, which all added up. I’m now going to use the break to the next event to relax, spend some time with my family and re-focus on the remainder of the championship.”