Leader Bou and record-breaking Fujinami center stage for the Japanese GP

The 2016 FIM Trial World Championship heads to the most exotic date in the calendar with the Japanese Grand Prix, this weekend, the second round of the championship.

Takahisa Fujinami will be competing in a 300th GP and Toni Bou shall be hoping to remain in the top spot.

The Outdoor Trial World Championship relocates to Japan as the competition sets foot ‰ÛÒ for the first and only time this season ‰ÛÒ outside Europe. The second event of the year will once again take place in the installations of the Motegi circuit, as it has done every year since 2000.

Repsol Honda Team arrives at the event in excellent form with Toni Bou leading the overall standings and moving closer to recovery after a shoulder injury which has seen the champion forced to stop training to lessen the chance of further damage. Takahisa Fujinami, likewise, will be one of the stars of the show this weekend; in addition to performing in front of a home crowd, the Japanese rider with be taking part in no less than his 300th world championship race, setting a new milestone in trial history.

Bou, who battled valiantly to overcome a serious shoulder injury in the Calalonian GP to take second place on Saturday and come away with a crucial victory on the Sunday, now commands at the head of the overall standings with a five-point advantage over the nearest rival, Adam Raga. Bou will be hoping to get the most out of a course which has been a lucky one for him in the past, with thirteen wins there to date. Team-mate Fujigas, the rider with the second highest number of wins in Motegi ‰ÛÒ a total of six ‰ÛÒ is currently in seventh in the overall rankings, just two points off fifth spot.

"It‰Ûªs clear that the result of the first world championship date was as excellent as it was unexpected," Bou said.

"On Friday we didn‰Ûªt even think that we would be competing. Can you imagine how good it felt to be up on the podium on Saturday and to have won on the Sunday? But by Monday I was in a physical mess. So, obviously I have rested over these days hoping that the shoulder recovers some more for the Japanese GP, which is always such an important date for us.

"We will have to wait until Friday to see how the tendon evolves before being able to train a little. Before then, we have a very long journey in store, but it‰Ûªs always easier when leading the world championship," the Spaniard concluded.