Fujinami was pushed
all the way by his team-mate Bou who really added
to the pressure when he parted with no marks on
his last lap. He added a single mark time
penalty to his two marks on observation but the
hard work on the opening two laps was enough to give him the victory.
It's over 12 months since Fujinami last won a
world championship round when he won the second
day at his home round in Japan in 2013. He has
been struggling with a knee injury since the end
of last year but put all this behind him to take
a popular win and make his rivals take note of
his commitment to the championship.
"This is a fantastic victory
for both my-self and the new Repsol Honda team," the Japanese rider enthused.
"I
started the competition feeling very confident
and I knew I could build on this when I took the
lead after the opening lap. I concentrated on my
riding and despite having to race against the
clock on the final lap I took the victory. After
the problems with my knee injury in the X-Trial
championship I am very happy to be back on the
top step of the podium and look forward to Sunday's competition?.
Defending champion Toni Bou gave
himself all the hard work to do after parting
with seven marks on his opening lap, fighting
back with a strong second lap score before
finishing the final lap with a perfect no marks recorded on his score card.
"My day has not been so bad and second
position is not a disaster," the Spaniard lamented.
"I knew when I parted
with the five mark penalty that a victory today
would be hard to achieve. The competion today has
been quite easy after last year when the hazards
were much harder. I would like to thank the fans
today for their support and my team for their help?
The opening round of the Championship continues
at the Australian venue tomorrow with a
double-header format that will see the riders
tackle sections over the same outcrops of Mt.
Tarrengower on the outskirts of the town of Maldon, Victoria.
Main Photo: Takahisa Fujinami (L) and Toni Bou
