JAPAN: Twin Ring Motegi , 2,3/6/2001

With a partisan crowd of a huge size (the largest of the year), there was nothing Japanese rider Takahisa Fujinami would have liked better than to post a win at the prestigious Twin Ring Motegi World Trials round. And considering his recent win at the previous round, the scenario didn't appear out of question. But defending champ Dougie Lampkin quashed those ideas with a commanding performance, winning both days over Fujinami and extending his lead in the points standings. Lampkin's performance quickly cancelled the discussion of the Brit's vulnerability which began following his Belgian loss, as his points total was less than half that of the runner-up. Fujinami, meanwhile, couldn't manage another victory, despite (or perhaps due to) his being on home turf (he appeared to make more mistakes than normal).
Behind the top duo, there was more confusion than usual. Young revelations appeared only on the second day: Adam Raga and Marc Freixa did not shine on Saturday, when old stars like Steve Colley and Marc Colomer did well. On the whole, the Japan journey represented an expensive but effective trip for the factories, thanks to the Japanese media, eager to support the event, and to the approximately 25,000 spectators. Unfortunately, European riders on small budgets did not contest the event, and the opportunity to compare the Junior-class Japanese and European riders was missed. On the other hand, the factory Scorpa-Yamaha team earned its World points thanks to 17-year-old Fumitaka Nozaki.

Day 1
Saturday's competition was decided by two combined factors - the weather and a single, spectacular (though not-too-difficult) section. It was the final zone on the first loop, up until which point the two contenders - Lampkin and Fujinami - had proceeded within a single point of one another. Both were running late compared to the other riders, and had already experienced a bit of rain. When they arrived at the indoor-style 15th section. Fujinami went first, and - concerned with the slippery stones - posted a safe three. Lampkin waited for the conditions to dry a bit and cleaned it as a result. From that point on, it was all Lampkin, as Fujinami appeared to have had his concentration affected by the miscalculation. After them for the first time this year was Colley, in third place after the first loop. Kenichi Kuroyama was in fourth place at half-competition, but was overtaken in loop two by Colomer thanks to a great late performance by the Gasgas rider. Graham Jarvis was sixth, and Freixa's seventh completed a group of five riders on three points.

Day 2
After some complaints about the level of the competition, organizers decided to make some sections more difficult in order to make the differences between the top riders more reliable. The first big modification was at section three, which was narrowed to force the riders into a steep rock. Many had their doubts, but Jose-Manuel Alcaraz demonstrated that the section was feasible, completing it with only one point. After him came fives from Raga, Freixa, Cabestany and Colley, but stars Lampkin and Fujinami cleaned it. At section six, the troubles started for Fujinami. He fived, while Lampkin made a three. Fujinami seemed quite nervous and lost other precious points in section 11 (fiving at the beginning, where it was easy!) and in section 12 (making a bad three).

At the end of first lap, Lampkin led with a considerable advantage - eight marks against the 16 of runner-up Cabestany. In third place was Kuroyama, while Fujinami was only in fouth place with 19 mistakes. In the second loop, Fujinami - furious for his poor performance - rediscovered the proper concentration, but since Lampkin wasn't distracted, the duo finished in the same order as the day before. Cabestany and Kuroyama dropped many positions, while a great loop of Raga (only 9 points) propelled him to third place.

Briefly…
· The second time at the Twin Ring Motegi venue was another success. The famous Honda circuit lies two hours north of the Tokyo airport, and the event is the best-attended trials of the year. About 25,000 spectators watched this time, paying a 2,000 yen fee for both days. Holding a trials at an elite road-race circuit is of great help to organizers, as it avails them to large garages for each team, showers, food services, booths, big and organized press office, etc.
· The weather was good, except for a light shower on Saturday, with sun, warm weather and humid air gracing the event on both days.

· On Friday evening at the hotel inside the circuit, the organizers had an elaborate presentation where they asked Doug Lampkin, Takahisa Fujinami and Ignacio Verneda (chairman of the Federation) to hit barrels of saki. Afterwards was a big party with many different food courses from all over the world (though the chef is Italian).

· The featured sections were more or less in the same spots as last year. They were split into four groups: numbers one and 15 were indoor-style zones close to the start area; two through five were on a hill with some rocks; six through nine were in the woods; 10 through 14 were also in the woods but with round, slippery stones.
· On Saturday, a couple of hours before the start of the competition, there was a so-called "demonstration" of women's trials. More then 30 women showed their abilities on four artificial sections that were repeated twice. For some of them, some sections were too hard, but they were aggressive.
· The Junior competition was won on both days by Spaniard Josep Manzano, but he did not find it easy to defeat the young Japanese. Indeed, on Saturday Fumitaka Nozaki was runner-up by only two points, preceding his teammate Isao Shibuya by another two points. Things went much better for Manzano the next day, although the two Yamaha riders again threatened his crown and made the podium