Trials Torque: In search of White Lightning
By John Dickinson on 20th Jan 16
BACK in December I (John Dickinson) wrote a piece in Trials Torque on World Championship rounds in the early 1980s and asked if anyone knew the whereabouts of SHANE EDWARDS, a youngster at the time who rode a few rounds and was supported by his extrovert dad Maurice, who wore white shorts whatever the weather and whom Martin Lampkin christened White Lightning! Well, Shane has been in touch and wrote the following for TMX
I was both surprised and very pleased to see your article regarding the World Trials scene in the 1980's in a December edition of the TMX, and to see the picture of ‘Big Mart' (Lampkin) which is similar to one that I have pasted on the front of my scrapbook full of TMX articles at home.
It was a wonderful but tough time for a youngster like myself, I still have vivid memories of standing next to Malcolm Rathmell on Pipeline with the crowds watching on, visiting Mick Andrews' house, joining Bernie Schreiber in Czechoslovakia (as it was then), seeing a two wheel drive SWM in Spain and an unforgettable trip to the Spanish and Belgian World rounds with Martin, John Lampkin and Chris Sutton.
I remember the border guards would not let us into Spain via the motorway control, so Martin casually drove to a more out of the way crossing where they waved us through with big smiles when they recognised him.
Martin was one of the ‘trials Gods' that I looked up to, I did not know who to fear more, my father or Martin, I can still hear him cursing as I followed him through sections on the beach at the Manx Two Day trial (he probably didn't know I was behind him).
The organisers had forgotten about the tide so the rocks were underwater with just the markers showing, there were a few choice words from Martin.
The first person to contact me following the publication of your article was a chap called Steve Mannering (hope I have spelt his name correctly) who was a friend that I rode with in the Surrey Schoolboys Trials Club on my TY80 and he is still riding today.
I was in Steve's kitchen at the age of ten when I received my first second class award.
It is difficult to explain the trials world to people who do not know the sport, I am the Health and Safety advisor at our local Young Farmers country show and Steve Colley is often the main attraction (he will be this year). I quietly stand in the background and think... "I used to do that! Maybe not to Steve's standard!
Sadly, my father Maurice or ‘Mole' as he made me call him, passed away three months ago after a long battle with cancer but he died as we would have expected him to... in his shorts.
He was indeed a larger than life character who had enormous respect for Martin – but would never tell him!
In short and when I look back, I can pretend to be an engineer who still plays a bit of rugby and shoots clay pigeon but I ride a Triumph Thunderbird to my office, rode to the TT last year, and I can probably speak for a few others when I say that if you were to cut me in half, I would have ‘Trials Rider' written through me... I wouldn't change those times for the world!
