Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

· ·: OBSERVEDTRIALS~:-:': .ScottishSix DaySTrials. ..'" . ' . :. ~ . :: ': . • Kinlochleven Hillsides • • 10 sloes n By John Dickinson KINLOCHLEVEN, SCOTLAND, MAY 2-7 oug Lampkin, just 18-years-old, is th e red -ho t p roperty on the World Championship Trials scene th is year. Last month, young Doug won his first-ever World Championship Trial. This month he adde d the Scottish Six Days Trial to his list of firsts an d he is still in his firs t full season of ad ult competi tion ! Last year, Lampkin made a brilliant late-seaso n run to earn the Eu ro pean Cha mpi ons hi p, but few tho ught his ri di ng would im prove so much over the win ter months as to enable him to challenge for all the top hon ors. But Doug is, of course, a Lampkin first and foremost. The pedigree is beyond reproach. His father, Martin, was World Trials Champion in 1975, and also won the Scottish Six Days Trial three times - in 76, 77 and '78. Doug's uncles, Alan and Arth ur, won the six-day event in '66 and '64, respect fully. Doug' s cousin, John, who impo rts Betas into Britain and who naturally sponsors Doug, has of cou rse won a World Round, but surprisingly never the SSDT. He has been the runnerup once, though, and third on three occasions. Needless to say, Doug has a lot to live up to. The Scottish Six Days is a unique event which requires different levels of concentrati on to w in, when compared to a World Round and other one-day events . In a one-day triaI, a rider can psyche himself up for the sections ahead and maintain that level throughout the day. This is impossible in the SSDT. Each day consists of a 100-mile route over public roads and moorland, taking in probably six groups of sections. The weather is frequently bad D (Above and Inset) Doug lampkin was Impressive In winning the Scottish Six Days Trial. (Below) Steve Colley attempted to win his thlrd-straight Scottish Six Day, but he was thwarted by his teammate lampkin. Colley held on to finish second. - cold an d we t - an d it is a very disciplined rider who can psyche himself into a section after a 35-mile ride on the road, soaking wet from the freezing rain. Wha t was expected in 1994 w as a d irect head-to-head competition between the two Screenart Beta riders , Steve Colley and Lampkin. It was expected to be close, with the extra experience of Colley eventually winning out. The Isle of Man rider had won for the last two years and was ou t to comp lete a hat trick. There was an ad ded ingred ient of tens ion as Colley, previously the undisputed number-on e r ider for the team , has felt increasing ly squeezed out since young Doug's arrival. The two riders battled it out, for.sure, right up to the final section of the week, but so did a rejuvenated Robert Crawford, who pushed the two riders right to the wire. Crawford has really gotten his act together since switching to Yamahas, and is really proving that the TYZ waterpumper is a machine to be reckoned with. SUNDAY Sund ay is we igh-in d ay in Scotland when the machines are scrutinized and so me parts are marked to ensure that th ey a re not switche d throughout th e week. Still officially considered a reliability tria l, the SSDT nowadays only sees the engine crankcases and wheels marked . Weigh-in da y used to be quite an occasion, with many riders making their own modifications to their machines, especially for the SSDT. These da ys, most make do by taping a couple of spare inner tubes to their rear fenders before handing their machines to the scrutineers. Gas-Gas machines were th e most popular this year, with Betas and Yamahas next. MONDAY The first day dawned wet and overcast, although by midday the weather was warm and heavy . A fairly easy - by SSDT standards - opening da y went off without a hitch. A total of 91 miles was covered with the day being split into two separate parts. The morning run was centered in Kinlochleven, w ith sections on such famous locations as Grey Mares Ridge, Garbh Bhein and Cnoc a Linnhe. Garbh Bhein is a real Scottish classic, being a long, steep, straight climb over loose, rolling rocks. Throttle control is everything. Th e 241 en tra n ts th en took a sh ort ferry trip across the swift-running waters of the tidal Loch Linnhe for the afternoon run, to finish the normal Se-section day. All the fancied runners were grouped together in the starting order, and this made it much more interesting for spectators, as well as doubly nerve-rattling for the contenders. Almost from the very first group of sections in the triaI at Grey Mares Ridge, the pattern was se t for the week. The players were to be Lampkin , Colley, Crawford and four-time SSDT winner and 10-time British Champion Ste ve

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