Dougie Lampkin - Scottish Six Days Trial
By G2F on 9th May 10
Dougie Lampkin saw his chance of collecting his sixth win at the World famous Scottish Six Days Trial and of extending his current run to three successive victories disappear on the opening day of the event. Lampkin suffered a rare and strange electrical fault on Monday that resulted in him losing twenty-seven marks on time, and which effectively ruled him out of the top order before the trial had even got underway proper. Dougie arrived in the Scottish Highlands looking to rewrite the history books by becoming the first ever rider to record a second run of three wins in this unique and classic competition. Whilst the thirty sections per day are now of a level not to really trouble the top riders, the route across mainly rough land that exceeds over one hundred miles on some days remains a real test of man and machine. The trial was originally introduced to measure the reliability of the machines back in the early part of the twentieth century, and with the modern era of trials bike designed for much shorter courses, durabilty continues to be an important part of this event.
Dougie looked to have put himself very much in contention with the loss of just six marks coming into the final group of sections on Monday afternoon, but just as he was about to ride the last double sub hazard his factory Beta spluttered to a halt. Although Lampkin frantically tried to identify the fault, it was not until nearly three quarters of an hour later that it was diagnosed as being the HT coil.
With a new coil fitted the thirty-four year old veteran rushed back to the parc ferme after riding the last two sections, but found himself well over his alloted time. This put Dougie outside the top fifty as the first day results were published due to the hefty time penalties he had incurred through no fault of his own.
Ever the true professional the ex multi FIM Trial World champion did not let this effect the rest of his long week as he set about salvaging some pride by climbing up the leader board and putting on a show for the many people who had made the trip to Fort William to see him in action.
Lampkin completed the closing five days for the loss of a mere two marks, this included four clean days and just two dabs on Friday during his early day. Dougie's total of eight marks on observation for the week was the best of the two hundred and seventy riders who started the trial and would have been good enough for his sixth victory if it was not for his time penalties. Incredibly Dougie pulled his way up to eighth spot come the finish and even beat Albert Cabestany thanks to another clean ride on day six.
Although Dougie had still managed to enjoy his week in the Highlands he was understandibly disappointed about what had happened. "I am pretty gutted about Monday as without the problem I would have been there or there abouts. Scotland is tough both on the riders and on the bikes, but having an HT coil pack up is not something you can prepare for."
"The Scottish is one of my favourite events of the year, so I am disappointed not to have had the chance to extend my winning run. After Monday I just rode for fun, and enjoyed the opportunity to ride with my cousins without any pressure. The battle between Alexz (Wigg), Ben (Hemingway) and Michael (Brown) was a close one and I would like to congratulate them all for riding well and creating such a tense climax."
Lampkin ended. "Despite my disaster, it was still a great week and a good result for the Beta team."