Dougie's the Nord star...
By TMX Archives on 30th Jul 08
DOUGIE Lampkin made a triumphant return to British one-day observed trials to claim the re-introduced ACU British Experts title which was staged by promoters Graham Jarvis and John Kerwin of DirtBike-Traxs at their Nord Vue venue near Carlisle, last Saturday. Graham and John were using the trial as a taster for their World Championship round which will run on the Cumbrian Fell in May next year and the event at least let the British lads get a feel for the venue. Doug looked cool and sharp right from the off and was always the pick of the six Championship contenders, down from eight with Alexz Wigg and George Morton having to withdraw due to injury problems.
The 15 sections, set on a very short course which was lapped twice, were a combination of natural terrain, the sandstone fell land having been quarried for stone creating lots of bomb-holes, plus plenty of intervention by Graham who had placed lots of huge pieces of stone in crucial places. And there were several interesting' uses of the odd tree - with riders actually riding over the lower branches!
After the usual compulsory long wait at the first section, which was long and tough for an opener starting by jumping over a pine tree branch and then twisting its way up and down a steep rock bank. Sam Haslam and Ross Danby, Gas Gas UK's young dynamic duo, both collected early fives, but Shaun Morris drew applause for his two-dab effort. Dougie then laid down the marker for the day with a flowing, confident ride and an easy clean that said simply, This is what you have to beat today boys!
James Dabill and Michael Brown were always going to be the challengers and the two pals weighed-up all the sections together. Dibs' found hmself running out of time in the opener and pulled a radical jump between rocks that Steve Colley would have been proud of to escape with a three. Browny had the section well-sussed though and rode calmly and confidently to a safe clean.
With the Gas Gas trio of Shaun, Sam and Ross leading the way, followed by Doug, James and Michael the battle for the British Experts progressed through a succession of rocky hazards which all followed a similar format with variations on step-ups and step-downs, with some of the jump-offs making for heavy landings.
Doug was in a class of his own and had the several hundred spectators in the palm of his hand as they trekked round watching his every move. He was still clean when they arrived at the ninth section by which time Browny was on ten, having fived the eighth and Dabill was on seven, following a succession of dabs.
This section was both long and tricky with strategically placed boulders requiring perfect control. Doug and Michael were right on the time limit as they manoeuvred their Betas on the final huge slab of stone before firing to the Ends cards.
Section 11 again featured tricky climbs and drops over square-edged stone slabs with a unique exit jump over a tree branch! Doug picked-up his first five here when the rear wheel of his Beta just slipped the wrong side of a stone which spoiled his approach onto the following rock slabs. Browny kept himself in the frame here with a superb clean.
Numbers 12/13, as were the final pairing 14/15, were marked-out close together and could be viewed from a single vantage point with 14 proving the trickiest as Doug and Michael escaped for a one apiece while the huge tree stump at 15 was a spectacular finale. Brown dropped an avoidable five on this one when he overshot a drop-off and ran over the section marking tape on the first lap.
So they started the second lap with Doug way out in front on just eight with Dabill 20 and Brown 23. And Dougie just kept pulling further ahead, the only real drama being on the penultimate section when the Beta appeared to jump out of gear firing up a climb and the clutch lever whacked Martin in the face as he dived to catch the bike, opening-up a really nasty-looking cut over his eye that really spurted blood. While a first aider attempted to assist (Mart was going nowhere until Doug finished!) Danny Haslam (Sam's assistant) jumped straight into the breach and acted as impromptu minder for Doug to complete the final section with a clean.
It was the first time that the prestigious British Experts Trophy had been fought over since 1997 and Doug was indeed a worthy winner - having previously been victorious in 1994 and 1995!
BRITISH EXPERTS TRIAL
Nord Vue, Armathwaite, nr Penrith (JA Events)
CHAMPIONSHIP
1 Dougie Lampkin (Beta) 8 + 11 = 19
2 Michael Brown (TTT Beta) 23 + 16 = 40
3 James Dabill (Future Montesa) 20 + 26 = 47
4 Shaun Morris (Gas Gas) 49 + 33 = 82
5 Sam Haslam (JST Gas Gas) 47 + 41 = 88
6 Ross Danby (JST Gas Gas) 68 + 44 = 112
EXPERT
1 Joe Baker (Scorpa) 1 + 0 = 1
2 Gary MacDonald (MRS Sherco) 4 + 1 = 5
3 Ian Austermuhle (Beta) (25x0) 6 + 1 = 7
4 J Richardson (MRS Sherco) (24x0) 5 + 2 = 7
5 James Fry (MRS Sherco) 7 + 3 = 10
6 Lee Sampson (Sherco) 9 + 3 = 12
7 Jonny Walker (Sherco) 6 + 8 = 14
8 Sam Ludgate (Beta) 10 + 5 = 15
9 Liam Walker (Gas Gas) 11 + 5 = 16
10 Ben Wibberley (Gas Gas) 8 + 14 = 27
CLUBMAN
1 Josh Woods (Beta) 3 + 3 = 6
2 James Walker (Sherco) 8 + 6 = 13
3 Mark Atkinson (Gas Gas) 18 + 3 = 21
4 Neil Sharp (Gas Gas) 14 + 8 = 22
5 Sean Isherwood (Beta) 14 + 12 = 26
6 Trevor Willans (NDL Montesa) 16 + 14 = 30
7 Dave Wardell (Sherco) 17 + 21 = 38
8 Jimmy Baker (OAS Beta) 25 + 21 = 46
9 Phil Scott (Montesa) 29 + 21 = 50
10 Ian Shankie (Sherco) 40 + 35 = 75
YOUTH A
1 Ben Butterworth (Beta) (16x0) 12 + 18 = 30
2 Aaron Whitfield (Beta) (14x0) 8 + 22 = 30
3 Ryan Henderson (Gas Gas) 19 + 27 = 46
4 Tim Blackmore (Gas Gas) 29 + 21 = 50
5 Jack Wilkinson (Beta) 29 + 24 = 53
6 Ryan Whitfield (Beta) (13x0) 30 + 26 = 56
7 Oliver Ingham (Beta) (11x0) 28 + 28 = 56
8 Guy Kenyon-Bell (Gas Gas) 44 + 23 = 67
9 Liam Atkinson (Beta) 41 + 33 = 74
YOUTH B
1 Alistair Bedford (JC Beta) 7 + 0 = 7
2 Jamie Bingley (Gas Gas) 17 + 25 = 42
3 Duncan MacDonald (Sherco) 34 + 30 = 64
4 Alex Strange 29 + 44 = 73
For full report and pictures see T+MX NEWS, Friday, Aug 1, 2008