The Spanish GP opens the World TrialGP season for Repsol Honda Team

Meanwhile, Takahisa Fujinami, the rider with the highest number of participations in the world championship, will tackle a 23rd season in the discipline‰Ûªs top flight. Last year Fujigas finished in fifth place, completing twenty consecutive years of top five world championship finishes. The goal of the veteran Repsol Honda Team rider is to finish on the podium in as many races as possible.

Last year he made it onto the podium in Japan and England and has twice won the Spanish

"This first trial of the World Championship and will be very difficult for me." Fujiname explained. "With the fall that I had in the Spanish Championship I injured my shoulder, apart from other body blows and I am not yet recovered to tackle the event at full fitness.

"Nevertheless, we are going to try to defend as much as possible and hope that I can be fully recovered before the next trial at home."

The small Catalan town located in the Pyrenees last year hosted TrialGP for the first time in Spain and this year replicates with a similar route to that of 2017. The paddock will be located in the Puig Franco Hotel in the Font-RubÌ_ district.

In the first TrialGP qualifier Toni Bou was second, behind his then team-mate Jaime Busto. On the Sunday, with competitors battling a race hampered by heavy rain, Bou grabbed the victory with a superb second lap. Takahisa Fujinami came back from seventh position in qualifying to post a fifth final place.

This season also sees a change to the regulations, with the riders able to compete in the qualifying round for the event in reverse order according to the best time from the first qualifying lap. As usual, the score in the section and the time taken will be taken into consideration when deciding the race order. Like last year, the course will involve fifteen sections over two laps to decide the eventual winner.