World Outdoor Trials Championship Sequathchie, USA
Round 3 Day 2 Sunday (2 day event) 21/05/06
Dougie Lampkin fought a brave battle to take another second
place at day two of the USA Grand Prix earlier today. Lampkin
put up a tough fight against eventual victor Raga during the
opening lap, but faded in the later stages whilst still suffering
the after effects of an illness that saw him take to his hotel
bed early last night. Dougie’s brace of runners up positions
leaves him in a clear second place in the championship after
the opening three rounds.
Torrential electric storms throughout the night forced the
organisers to make substantial changes to the course ready
for Sunday’s competition. Whilst the water level in
the lazy river had hardly risen, the heavy rain had wreck
the muddy bankings making them impossible in places. Lampkin
started strongly and was right on Raga’s tail through
the first part of the initial lap, but a soft five in section
eight would be the difference between these two riders at
the mid point.
With temperatures rising and the humidity increasing too,
Lampkin looked jaded as he went out on the loop for the final
time this weekend. Knowing that the victory was slipping from
his reach, Dougie adopted a safety approach to conserve what
little energy he had in an attempt to hold on to second position.
Despite a five in the very last hazard of the day, Lampkin
had done enough to grind out an important result in terms
of the title race.
“I am absolutely finished, I haven’t got an ounce
of energy left in me. I not sure what it was last night, but
it certainly took the stuffing out of me. I wanted to eat
some thing as I knew it was going to be a tough day today,
but I just kept being violently sick. This morning I felt
better, but not any where near 100%.”
“After yesterday I was really up for the battle with
Adam, and during the first lap I all but matched him apart
from the mistake in section eight, which was a real shame
after having ridden so well for the rest of the lap. The second
lap was all about survival. I simply had no answer to Raga,
as he was in a class of his own on the last lap. Overall it
has been a positive weekend, but I now can’t afford
to lose anymore ground in the championship.”
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