Toni Bou (Montesa Cota 4RT) began defending the title he has held for the last six years in the best way possible, winning in the first day of the Japanese Trial Grand Prix, which opened the 39th edition of the World Championship this Saturday.
In this first appearance of the new Montesa Cota 4RT 4-stroke engine in the outdoor world championship, the plurichampion achieved the best score in each of the three laps on a track with 12 very difficult zones, both due to the heavy rainfall the day before and the new ‘non-stop’ regulations applied this season.
Takahisa Fujinami (Montesa Cota 4RT) finished fourth, conditioned by the score he accumulated in the first lap. The results of Toni Bou and his teammate have established the leadership of Montesa in the classification by manufacturers.
Toni Bou: “There’s nothing better than to begin the championship with a victory, which hasn’t been easy to achieve, as the zones were quite difficult, I risked a lot so as not to stop in the zones and things went well. To win in Honda’s home is always special, but this time I’d like to thank the team for the great work done on the new engine, which has worked very well in its debut in the outdoor world championship. I’m satisfied by the victory, but not so happy with the new regulations, which will make us all suffer this year. The officials have been strict here, as they should be, but it’s evident that it will be impossible to judge each doubtful situation equally so as to be fair with everyone. There have been complaints and I’m sure that this is going to complicate the championship”.
Takahisa Fujinami: “My aim was to get a podium position, celebrate with my fans in response to the work done by Honda on the new engine, but it wasn’t possible. I got too many points in the first lap and it was impossible to reduce the differences. Tomorrow I’ll have another chance and I trust I’ll do better. It was exactly the same last year on the first day and the following day I was on the podium. I hope history will repeat itself”.