Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

Saunders . Colley, always a nervous starter, parted with a prod early on, while Saunders and Lampkin looked set to go clean for the d ay. Saunders eventually put his foot down in the 16th section at the Black Bum Group, while Lampkin after d efeating all the day's tough sections - succumbed to a d ab in the easy 24th section at Meall Nam Each. All in all, it was an eas y start to the week, bu t things were guaranteed to get tougher. (Above) Rob Crawford kept the pressure on the two favorites throughout the - k , but ended up third. (Above right) Three-time winner Steve Saunders finished fourth. (Right) Nearly 250 riders took pert In the ScottIsh Six Days Trial. TUESDAY Day two followed a very similar pattern, with dry weather and another fairly easy course. It ought to have been a tough cross-country route, but a wet Scottish winter has seen the peat bogs saturated, so an alternative road-based-only day was quickly organized. Thi s probably pl eased many riders who had a real cushy day compared to the moorland slog on a tight time schedule that they were really du e! None of the abo ve made any difference to the battle for the lead as Lampkin, Saunders, Colley and Crawford finished in that order. The youn gster was slowly but surel y stringing the field out behind him. Lampkin's one area of vulnerability was in the uniquely Scottish, loose rolling rock sections, and two marks lost in the WEDNESDAY The first real moorland crossing of the week greeted riders on day three. Riders had a tough morning ride through the Ounes Forest. The afternoon saw another classic Scottish ride over more moors to the Blackwater sections. For once, lampkin wasn't the best, although he was the favorite to be until he suffered a surprise five in a section at the end of the day that was cleaned many times by others. This slip let in the Gas-Gas pairing of John Shirt Jr. and Cornish rider Jason Lawyer, who both dropped three marks over the 30 sections. Also moving up a gear was Yamaha-mounted Phil Ald er son, w ho finished the day with five. Lampkin had to settle for a loss of seven, bu t this still saw him increase his lead over new second -place man Colley, who was just a final two hazards was at least enough to prove to his rivals tha t he might just be beatable, after all. What-is the SSDT? T he first week in May is the most important of the year for many thousands of trials enthusiasts, as it means only one thing: The Scottish Six Days Trial. As more and more modem trials move an to ever-shorter courses, especially a t the International World Championship level, th e Scottish event is almost an anachronism, caught in a time warp unique to itself. Yet it remains the best event in the calendar for many - riders and spectators alike. Taking place in the moorlands surrounding Fort William, deep in the Highlands, the Scottish contest remains the ultimate tri als test. Each daily run cons ists of around 100 miles of mixed terrain. There is plen ty of roadwork - often singletrack coun try lanes and plenty of long moorland crossin gs which can be very hard work for riders not used to such terrain. Un til the last five years, all the top World Championship riders would attend the Six Days . Unfortunately, the advent of the big-money indoor events, which are much more of a lure these days, leaves the Brits scrapping for the win, themselves. No t tha t the 250 or so private entrants worry too much about the non-participating foreigners. They still know which is the best event in the world. And included in this are still plenty of foreign riders who travel from all points of the globe to ride. This year there were Japanese, Australians, Spaniards, Swiss, and Canadians, plus French, Andorran, German and Kiwi riders on hand. Of the latter, New Zealander James Lawton proved to be a very useful rider, indeed. One of the most famous names in Scottish history is, of course, the Lampkin family. Brothers Arthur, Alan and Martin all won the SSDT - a record all by itself. Yet 1994 was to witness another Lampkin record as Martin's son, Doug, collected the win in only his second attempt, making for the first-e ver father and son winning team. single mark adrift on the day. It was a disaster of a day for Saunders , though, who not only lost 14 poin ts in th e sections, but also saddled himself with 12 time penalti es . Later in the week, the four-time SSDT winner managed to get the marks removed, but by then the damage had been done. THURSDAY Thursday followed the very traditional route around the Moida rt Peninsula, and most of the course was on pa vement. There are still 30 sections, of course, but these involved only mino r excursions off road. Lampkin lost six points in the very first group, which was, in fact, cleaned only by Montesa pilot Wayne Braybrook. The hardest single section by a long way, probably of the week for that matter, was the sixth section at Pipers Bum. An awkward wa te rfall brought virtually the entire field to a standstill. The sole clean was claimed by an absolutely inspired Jason Lawler, while Short escaped for a two as he motored to his second Best On Day performance. Short moved into third place w ith h is daily total of nine, yet Lampkin, on 16 for the day, still edged further ahea d of a lackluster Colley. FRIDAY What a d ifference a day makes. For mos t of Friday, Lampkin cruised confid ently around, dropping just a single mark until the 25th section of the day at MeaIl Choire Glais - a wonderful Celtic name. The Beta just tucked its head in and had Do ug right off. "I had no chance," said Lampkin. The second half of the day's route was changed, as Highland Pass was covered in s now. Co ll ey and Crawford had excelled and lost a mere two marks, while Lampkin had a disaster at 10. The scores of the leading three as they went into the final da y were: Lampkin, 38; Colley, 39; Crawforo,~.AllofLampkin's painstak- Crawford, ~. All of Lampkin's painstakingly-earned lead had been w hittled away, and a real battle on Ben Nevis - the traditional end to Scottish week - was eagerly awaited. SATURDAY The popular opin ion w as tha t the experienced Colley was now the favorite, and th at Lampkin had lo st h is cool. Crawford was still looked on as a dark horse. When the action got und erway, however, Lampkin pu t on his race face and literally took the sections apart. Just a sin- . gle dab in the difficult third sub of the day was all that sullied his scorecard. The fans poured onto the lower slopes of Ben Nevis to witness the final six sections of the day. The third and fourth sections had been set out as stoppers, and anything could have happened up until the final moments. But Lampkin had a plan, stuck to it, and carried it out to the letter, controlling the events like an old master. Up to the last group, Lampkin had been content to follow Colley, but at Ben Nevis he showed extreme confidence and attacked the difficult sections first, leaving Colley and Crawford to realize that they had been beaten. It was a classic d isplay of skill, temperament and gamesmanship all rolled into one. '1 don 't really believe that I've won," sai d Lam pkin. "I thought I'd be somewhere near, but I didn't expect to do it this year!" C'I SCottish Six Days Trial Klnlochleven, Scotland Results: May 2·7 OVERALL:I. Doug Lampkin 39 (Bet); 2. SteveCoUey 47 (Bet); 3. Rob Crawford 48 (Yam); 4. Steve SaUnd"", 59 (G-G); 5. John Shirt 60 (G-G); 6. Gra ham [arvis 88 (Sa» ; 7. Wayne Bcaybrook 96 (Man); 8. Jason Lawler 112 (G-G); 9. Phil AIde< Lmtpkin (4); Wednesday: John 5hirt (3); Thursday: Jonn Shirt (9); Friday : Rob Crawford (2); Saturday: Doug Lampkin (1).

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