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as he struggled to corne to grips with a radically scaled-down Montesa/Honda. Havin g a good sta rt to hi s first full championship series, though, was young Englishman Dougie Lampkin. Doug, the son of 1975 World Trials Champion Martin Lampkin, won the European title last yea r in his first attempt, and an eighthpl ace finish in Ireland was an excellen t start for his bid at the World title. Lampkin was a bit d isappointed however, as he ha d hoped for an even better finish . Little did he know that such a finish lay in store for him at round two .. . Just one week later, the World Championship circus was camped ou t on the g ro und s of Hogh ton Tower, a stat ely horne near Ma nchester, England, and h orne of Si r Berna r d d e Hoghto n, Bar onet. Sir Bern ard is not a motorcyclis t, but he always makes ' th em welcome at his imposing horne, as Hoghton Tower also hosts a Vintage Sprint which attracts massive crowds. Sir Bernard also ma kes a point of welcoming all the foreign competitors, as he is fluen t in Italia n, French and Sp anish . Needless to say, he becomes a n in stant frien d to man y a rider. Th e English section s were basicall y very traditional, with lots of slippery, rocky s trea ms, and even trickier steep climbs over rocks and tree roots. In Ireland, riders had experienced no problems with time limits, but in England they encountered big trouble on Saturday when they had only four and a half hours to complete the 12 sections. The problems were brought on b y several very long stream sections that twisted backwards and forwards too many times, and all the riders took far too long in each trap. Most took over five minutes per section , and it was obvious after the first three sections tha t they would be in trouble with the clock. What was also obvious, was that a major upset was in the cards. Homecountry rider Lampkin - with his father Martin serving as minder - was riding brilliantly and easily outperforming the best riders in the world. . Without the 10 marks he picked up for opting to miss the two penultimate sections in order to reach the finish in time and avoid penalty marks, Lampkin would have undoubtedly fin ished day one holding the outright lead. As was the case, he finished just two marks behind the rejuvenated Basis, who maintained his cool while the others panicked about the time limit. The offending sections were eased by the event promoters, and day two was a much better all-around competition. All of the riders were in a positive state-ofmind, and a huge turnout of spectators was on hand to watch Lampkin perform, Having heard that Lampkin was in there kicking, the atmosphere at the event was quite festive . . Having proved to h imself that he cou ld boss the sections, what remained to be seen was Lampkin's ability to perfonn under pressure. Could Doug keep his head? Did he have the right temperament when all the pressure was on him? Really, now. Does McDonald's make hamburgers? Displaying no nervousness whatsoever , Lampkin rode his own trial, leaving the others to worry about what he was doing. Bosis dropped ou t of the hunt early on, leaving the big Spanish guns to aim for the young Brit. Being no stranger to pressure, Tarres se t about making inroads to the cheeky youngster's lead, all the while surrounded by his massive entourage. But Tarres had an early setback when a flat tire in the third section cost him five expensive points. Colome never looked happy all day, (Above) Competitors take a look at a section before the trial begins. (Left) Marc Colome started his season with consistent 3-2 finis hes In the ope ning rounds. (Rig ht) Spaniard Joan Pons ended up with a pair of fourth-place finishes In Ireland and England. but then again, he seld om does. Neither does Pons, but the Ga s-Gas rid er was actually in the process of s tag ing the strongest challenge. In the end, the pressure got to him and he buckled, dropping to fourth. Tarres, of course, can never be d iscounted, and put in a brilliant final lap that saw him part with only four marks. Martin La m p ki n, though, was w ell aware of Tarres' challenge, and made his son work hard right through to the end. And such was Doug's ride on the day, that not even a fina l section five could rob him of his epic victory. It trul Y was one of the best rides of all time. .Meanwhile, almost unnoticed, young Spaniard Angel Garcia slip ped into fifth aboard his Gas-Gas. Garcia has had bad luck with wrist inju ries d uring the last two season, but seems to be healed u p and ready to compete in '94. Ex-eharnpion Ahvala was riding well, but a few odd mistakes held h im to sixth. Colley initially blamed the trail for his seventh-place finish, but later admit- ted that he was sim ply not happy in the typically slippe ry British conditions and is more at-horne in the grippy Eu ropean rocks. . The hea rt breakin g s tory a g ai n belonged to Bilbao, who failed to get the Montesa/Honda into the top 15. The reworked Montesa and Bilbao jus t don't seem to click, and thr oughout the day he found it difficult to maintain balance and find traction . Nothin g ab out the new combination looked good, and the Montesa factory is sure to be a busy place in the time between meetings. There's still a long way to go , but while the old order - in the shape of Tarres - is most re luctant to mo ve over, Lampkin has served notice that he is in the business of simply moving them over. He's d one it once, an d found the taste of the winn er's champagne to his liking. Doug Lampkin has arrived. l."N Kllbroney Park Rostrevor, Ireland Results: April 17 CHAMPIONSHIP: I. Jordi Ta rres (G-G) ; 2. Tommi Ahvala (Fan); 3. Man: Colome (Bet); 4. Joan Pons (G-G); 5. Steve Colley (Bet); 6. Diego Basis (Bet) ; 7. Takumi Nari ta (Bet); 8. Dougie Lampkin (Be t) ; 9 . Bruno Ca mozzi (Sea) ; 10. Am os Bil bao (Mo n); 11. Rob Crawford (Yam); 12. Ange l Garcia (G-G); 13. Dona to Mig lio (G-G): 14. G ra ham Jarvis (Seo); 15. Th ierry Michaud (Fan). Hoghton Tower Blackburn, Britain Resulta: April 24 CHAMPIO NSHIP: 1. Dougie Lampkin (8 et ); 2. Marc Co lo me (Bet); 3. Jord i Tarr es (G-G) ; 4. Joan Pons (G -G) ; S. Angel Ga rcia (G -G) ; 6. Tom mi Ah val a (Fan) ; 7. Steve Colley (Bet); 8. Die-go Ba si s (Bet); 9. Do nato Miglio (G-C ); 10. Brun o Ca mozz i (Sea) ; 11. Rob Cra wford (Yam ); 12. G raham Jarvi s (Sea); 13. Pi e-rro Sembenini (Be t) ; 14. Jea n- Lue . Nictou (Bet ); 15. Takumi Narita (Bet). WORLD C HAMPIONSHIP TRIALS SERIES PO IN T STANDING S (After 2 of 10 rounds): J. Jor d i Ta rres (35 /1 win) ; 2. Ma rc Co lome (32); 3. Doug Lampkin (28/1 win ); 4. Tommi Ahvala (27); 5. Joan Pons (26); 6. Ste ve Colley (20) ; 7. Die go Basis (18); 8. Angel Garcia (15) ; 9. Bruno Ca moz zi (13); 10. (TIE) Takumi Narita /Dona to Miglio/ Rob Crawford (10) ; 13. (T IE) Amos Bilba o / Graha m Jarv is (6); 15. Pi erro Se me bnini (3); 16. [ean-Luc Nictou (2); 15. Th ier ry Micha ud (l ). Upcoming rounds Round 3 - Bilstain, Belgium· May 15 Round 4 • Osnabruck, Germany· May 22 co ~ 21