World Outdoor Trials Championship
Sequatchie, USA
Round 3 Day 1 Saturday (2 day event) 26/04/08
 Dougie
Lampkin finished the first of this weekend’s two days
of the 2008 FIM SPEA Trial World Championship at the US Grand
Prix in what he described as a ‘highly disappointing’
seventh place. The veteran multiple champion found the sections
at the Trial Training Centre in Sequatchie, Tennessee extremely
testing and despite a valiant effort, was unable to break
into the top six positions.
The weather for Saturday was hot and humid, with the promise
of thunderstorms that had been forecast all week. However,
the weather stayed dry, to the relief of the riders and the
fans.
The sections, run mainly in two riverbeds, were very tricky
and slippery. Even where dry, the soft sandy soil made traction
hard to find and like many riders, Lampkin suffered.
His first six sections went badly, as he didn’t seem
to find a rhythm on the rocky sections. He gained an early
five on the second section, followed by two more before heading
towards the highest point of the event, the aptly-named Lampkin
Falls waterfall.
On the way, Dougie almost cleaned a very tricky inclined
rock slab, but made a very heavy landing, winding himself
in the process. However, he went on to end the first lap with
a series of cleans to boost his confidence for the second
lap.
The second loop saw a better performance, to eventually record
a total score of 45, which placed him seventh in the overall
standings for the day.
Summing up the day, Dougie said; “The first lap started
badly, but then seemed to get better after the first six sections.
I had a big crash on the second lap, on section eleven and
then took a quick five two sections later, when I missed a
landing. It was frustrating as everything was possible today
but I needed a little luck, which wasn’t there for me.”
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