World Outdoor Trials Championship La Antigua, Guatemala
- Lampkin
Round 2 Day 2 Sunday (2 day event) 22/04/07
Dougie Lampkin today took another fourth place on the second
of the two days of competition in Guatemala. However, the
result did not belie the effort and performance from the Englishman,
who narrowly missed out on a podium position with a final
score tied with that of his team mate Takahisa Fujinami, but
losing out on the tie break, thanks to having one less clean
than the Japanese rider.
Lampkin was clearly back on top form for the second run through
the riverbed sections, despite the temperature being even
higher than Saturday. The day had dawned clearer than the
previous, but the baking heat and the thousands of spectators
who turned out to watch the World championship riders compete
in Guatemala for the first time, certainly didn’t make
the running any easier.
Dougie was one of only three riders who cleaned section six,
a particularly testing earth bank climb over a selection of
tree roots and rocks, to gain an early advantage, thanks to
the torque of his factory Cota. With a couple of dabs and
a three in the tricky eleventh hazard, which climbed up a
rocky river bed, Lampkin ended the first lap in third place,
just two points behind Adam Raga in second.
His run of form continued on the second lap, scoring fewer
marks than the first. However, Fujinami dropped even less
marks, including a single dab in section eleven, against Dougie’s
three and by the end of the second lap, both Lampkin and Fujinami
were on fourteen marks, over twenty marks ahead of their nearest
rival. However, the tie break eventually went Fujinami’s
way and Dougie was denied the podium position that his ride
had deserved.
Lampkin commented. “Today was a much better ride for
me. My biggest problem yesterday was that I took three fives,
but today, I didn’t record a single one. But I have
to say, I’m a little disappointed that I lost the podium
position to Takahisa on the tie-break, as I didn’t feel
that the ride deserved fourth place. Of course, I’m
happy with the result, but on any other day, a ride like that
would have taken a win. With four riders all scoring such
low marks, it just goes to show how competitive this season
is going to be. ”
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