ITALY: Foppolo , 30/6-1/7/2001

In a small mountain village situated at 5000 feet above sea level in the foothills of the Italian Alps, the world's top trials riders discovered what they have long sought and requested: difficult sections where any mistake could be repaired without compromising the competition. More specifically, the sections comprised many big, mud-covered boulders, steep hills, slippery rocks, exposed roots and creeks - or in other words, ideal ground for an old school, technical trials. But notice that we mentioned only that the top riders were content. The organizers had a heavy hand in laying out the hazards, and only the very elite competitors were able to enjoy their riding on Saturday. After the decision was made to ease five sections for the following day, things went only a little better, what with a hard rain overnight. Lampkin, of course, has proven that he can win no matter what the conditions, and he did so twice in Italy. But it did not come easily. On Saturday, his teammate Takahisa Fujinami threatened for the victory, and on Sunday -after having lost the pole position at half competition to Marc Freixa, he was worried about Adam Raga's fantastic second loop. In the end, he got the win by just three points over that young Spaniard. Unfortunately, the competition was not totally objective, as some observers were seen to be overly lax, while others were the complete opposite.

To be safe, many riders - before entering a section -mimed certain movements (hopping, etc,) to checkers and asked them what scores such maneuvers would earn them. It is because of situations like this that some people think the rules need to be altered -again! - to simplify the job of the marshals, and to make the event more comprehensible for the public. Could we be far from another new era in trials?

Day 1
With the mountain grass resulting in grip less rocks, the riders had to be very careful in order to keep their balance well. After the first three sections, which weren't so difficult, all the participants closely studied section four, and only few were able to complete it. Lampkin cleaned it, and was the only one to do so. Then all the top riders stood for a long time in section five, where - despite the preparation - the final steep rock did not allow anyone to reach the end. Even Lampkin and Fujinami fived it. With so much time spent early on, there was little remaining to dedicate to the other sections. Zone 11 also proved to be impossible, and after four and a half hours gone (out of five and a half, total), Lampkin, Fujinami, Graham Jarvis and Freixa started the second loop. They had only one hour to finish, with the champ leading Fujinami by nine, 24-33. In third sat Albert Cabestany on 38, ahead of Freixa's 39. Only Raga, who was in the seventh position, had a bit more time on his hands, thanks to his usual preference to run ahead of the group. He was in seventh after one loop, but his better time management gave him a good chance at improving his score in the second half. All the sections had worsened because of the bikes having carried mud onto spots that previously offered a bit of traction. Despite the hurry, Lampkin found the time to again attempt section five, in which he scored a very good three. His loop score at the end was again the best, 21 points, but this time Fujinami was just behind, at 25. In third place sat Raga, but quite far behind the two Montesa riders. Also impressive was the performance of Marc Colomer, who climbed to fourth place.

Day 2
Although the organizers implemented many changes in order to make the competition easier, the rain that fallen in the night complicated their job. The ground was wet, and it was difficult for everybody to find the right grip. Fortunately, the sun dried the sections, and in the second loop, every rider improved his score. Things started very badly for the World Champion and his Japanese teasmmate, who - due to carburetion problems - both fived the steep hill of section two, to the astonishment of the public. Raga, meanwhile, cleaned it. Lampkin failed also in section three, but he was the only one to finish section five with fewer then three points: in fact he had just 2! Freixa proceeded very well, so at half competition, he led with 17 points, Lampkin and Cabestany were behind, tied at 22. In fourth position was Fujinami, guilty of 26 mistakes, two fewer than Raga.

Raga was superlative in the second loop. He scored only 10 points, and this was the best performance of the day! The Spaniard was propelled to the runner-up place. Lampkin (of course) rode quite well too and scored 13. He won by only three points. Fujinami scored the third-best result and got the third step of podium ahead of Freixa, who was very unhappy for having thrown away a possible victory.

Briefly…
·· The sections were split into three groups: one through seven were 500 yards from the start; eight through to 12 were less than a mile in the other direction (and they were the farthest), and 13 through 15 were very close to the start. All of them were traditional, on natural terrain, which was possible thanks to the mountain location. About 10,000 spectators attended, paying an admission price of about four-and-a-half dollars each.
· This was he second World round for Foppolo, a little mountain village about 40 miles from Bergamo in the northern Italian. Back in 1993, the Moto Club Bergamo organized a trials GP round that was won by Jordi Tarres with a 24-point total (over three loops). As usual in Italy, the organization was great, with much attention paid to spectator facilities and entertainment (including a pyrotechnic display on Saturday night). The pits were well-structured, and there was a press office with many phone and fax lines (not to mention a Beta scooter that was made available to the journalists).
· Junior World Champion Josep Manzano had a very bad crash on the high wall of section 15, where he hit the ground heavily on his back and was taken to the hospital of Bergamo by helicopter. Fortunately, good news came late in the evening: although Manzano had broken a vertebra in his neck, he was able to move his extremities, brightening the prognosis for a full recovery.
· Despite Manzano's injury, the Spaniard won the Junior class on both days. Indeed, since his crash occurred in the weekend's final section and his card was turned in, he was credited with finishing the race. Runner-up on the first day was Taichi Tanaka, and in third place was Italian Valerio Bauce. On Sunday, Frenchman Jerome Berthune was second, followed by Tanaka.
· There was a strong rider turnout at the event, with 51 participants at the start. Many Italians tried for the experience, but as they were facing the most difficult round (thus far) of the entire 2001 series, it was not surprising to see them collect five after five. A good surprise for Italian fans was Saurday's seventh-place finish by National Champion Dario Re Delle Gandine, whose confidence was boosted by the partisan public.
· Speaking of which, the spectators played a big part in this event. Urged on at every section by announcer Roberto Rossi, the fans loudly applauded the riders as they overcame the most spectacular sections - especially the big wall of the final zone.
· During the Foppolo press conferences on both days, Doug Lampkin complained that he was ridden beneath his skill level. Was this to discourage his rivals, who feel they are edging closer to Lampkin's realm? Earlier in the season, it seemed that Takahisa Fujinami was Lampkin's closest consistent rival, but Adam Raga (who has climbed to fourth in the standings) is becoming a pain in the neck for the Japanese rider, often taking the runner-up position from him. The young Spaniard likes to run by himself, without waiting with the group to make its long studies of each section. Many times, this has proven to be the proper tactic.