Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/127783
the series-o pener in Spain , bu t rebounded with a pair of consecut ive wins at the Engl ish and Ir ish World Rounds. The son of m u lt i-t ime World Ch ampion Ma rt in Lam p kin, Dou g ap pears to be following in his fath er' s footsteps qu ite well. Lam p kin has to be con si dere d a favori te in Rhod e Island - tw o w ins in a row can give a rider an incred ible boost of confidence Gust look at what repeat win s did for Jeremy McGrath). Should young Doug score his fourth career win in the Uni ted States, he will become the fou rth member of the Lam pkin clan to win in America . Fa t h e r Mar ti n and uncles Alan and John did the honors in pr evious years. On ly Colomer h as been ab le to come close to matching Lampkin's consistency, as he boasts a w in and two seconds. ' The fact ory Montesa rider is fres h off a su ccessfu l off-season indoor series , and is said to be very confident on h is allnew works Cota, Alon g with teammate Gabriel Reyes and Japanese HRC rid er Ta k a hisa Fu j in a m i. Co lomer p ilots wh at is claimed to be a preproduction v ers io n of th e '9 7 Mont e sa trial s machine. Colomer's chances of a win in Rh od e Island are al s o v e ry g oo d, though th e Spaniard m ay not have as strong follow ing in the states. Colomer is remembered by m any Am ericans fans for the temper tantrum he threw at the ' 94 Donn er even t, in which h e sho u ted profanities and sped ou t of a section, ne arly runnin g over se vera l bystanders in the process. American Montesa importer Martin Belair reports that Colomer has matured greatl y in the past two years, and th at such antics shou ld no longer be expected of the 21year-old. But what about Tarres? The factory Gas Gas rider was a steady second at the series-opener, b ut faltered in England an d turned in a low ly - for him - eighthp lace finish . Tarres returne d to the po dium with a thi r d in Ireland, but it appears as if h is confidence h as been stirred. Tow ard the end of last sea son , Tarres lost the Spanish Nationa l Cham. pio n ship to Co lomer, then s uffered th rough a di sastrous off-s eason indoor series. Dedicated Tarr es fans, how ever, are quick to point out that he h as a tendency to come on strong in the middle and lat er rounds of the series. Tarres is a master of the mental games that are ohso-i m p o rta n t in tria ls. The prob lem, however, is that youngsters like Lampkin and Co lomer p ay no attention to su ch strategies. Tarres is the winningest rider at the U.S. World Round, havin g won in America four times in the last six tries. Other riders to watch inclu de Japanese hotshots Kenichi Kuro yama , Takahisa Fu jinami and Tomo yuki Ogawa, as well as vetera n Takumi Naritao Trial s ma y be huge in Europe, but it is also very popular in the land of the rising su n. All of the Japanese riders are very thin, and with the excep t io n of ' « op left) Great Britain's Doug lampkin T enters the United States World Round with two consecutive World Round victories and the lead In the series points stand ings. The factory Beta rider, a favorite to win In Rhode Island, has three family members who have won past U.S. World Round events. (Left) Factory Montesa rider Marc Colomer Is the man who most Insiders expected to dom inate this year's series. The 21-yearold Spaniard won the serles-opener In his home country and finished second at the other two events. Colomer pilots a beautifu l works Montesa Cota - one of but a few handmade prototypes. Seven-time World Champ ion Jordl Tarres has yet to win an event In 1996 and many feel that the factory Gas Gas rider will not win an eighth title. The 29-year-old Is one of the oldest competing riders , but has loads of experience that he hopes willovercome youth and exuberance. Past U,S,World Round winners 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1989 1990 1992 1994 Cal ifornia Rhode Island Washin gton Michigan Pennsylvania Colorado New York California Texas New York Rhode Island Washington Pen nsylvania Tennessee Arizona New York California Alan Lampkin Malcolm Rathmell Mar tin Lam pkin Charles Coutard Bernie Schreiber Bernie Schreiber Giles Burgat Eddy Lejeune John Lampkin Eddy Lejeune Thierry Michaud [ordi Tarres Diego Bosis [ordi Tarres [ordi Tarres Amos Bilbao [ordi Tarres Nari ta, a ll come fro m a bi cycle tri al s background. Span iard s Amo s Bilb a o a n d Joan Pons also ha ve good shots at top finishes . Bilbao scored the win at the '92 event in New York, and so far, has yet to add a no t h e r W orld Round w in to hi s resume. Expect the popular Spaniard to pu t on a good show while tr y in g h is hardest to re peat his '92 performance. Pons , meanwhile, is strugglin g to adapt to his new Fan tic factory bik e. A former big-bore Gas Gas rider, Pons has yet to turn in a top fin ish, but th e Sp anish rid er is always a threat . Defend in g Am erican h onor at th e eve nt will be a handful of ou r top rid er s. Heading up the charge is tw o-time and defending Na tional champ Geoff Aar on . The factory Beta rider is con sidered by many to be of world-cla ss ab ility, bu t the Connecticut rid er admits that he has fall en victim to ner ves at the previ ous W o rld Rounds . Th is time, h owever, Aaron will ' be prepar ed for the world class sections. Intensive off-season training, coup led willi a strong d esire to do Great Britain Grea t Britain Grea t Britain France Unite d States United States France Belgium Great Britain Belgium France Spain Ita ly Spain Spain Spain Spain well, should net him his first-ever World Champions h ip Series poin ts . Aaron came heart-breakingly close in '94, when he finished 16th at Donner. Six- time N ational Champio n Ryan Young is a lso itch ing ' to score some World Cham p ionship points. Young is ina rguab ly the mos t ex per ie nc e d of America's elite, and th e Gas Gas USA ride r will elevate his riding to the next level in an effort to m ake hi s country proud . Other to p Ame ri ca n s incl u de t he ever- flamboyant Jess Kernp kes, verysteady Raymond Pe ters , an d up-and comer Matt Moo re. All three shou ld gain valu ab le experience at the event. A surpr ise entrant and welcome Sigh t for sore eyes is Oregon ' s Lonny Hallsted. Th e sixth-ra nked Ll.S. rider has been living abroad since late '95, gaining experience while trainin g and competi ng in Scotland. Hallsted has already w on a Scot tish Nat ional, and many expect him to be on a wh ole new level when he makes h is return. You'll ha ve to take a close look at the back of his jersey to spot him, how ever, as Hallsted will likely have a serious Scottish accen t. After sp end ing several mo nths in Spain a few years ago, he returned speaking b rok en Engl ish. Needless to say, he is very adaptable. The terr ain in Exeter is described as a "mix of everythi ng," by promoter Mike Krasu n of Pal amine Pr omotions . Big ro ck ste ps, s li p pery logs a n d creeks a plenty will ch alle nge the ri ders. The event will take p lace over tw o d ays, as Wo rld Round competition has for the past tw o years inco rpo rated one lap on Saturday and tw o o n Sunday. Satur- . day's single lap ar ound the course will allo w riders plenty of time to fam iliarize themselves with each section, and Sunday' s pair of la ps sh ould go considerabl y quicker. Th ough n o s p e ctato r m otorcycl es will b e a llo w ed o n the course, a special hi king and mountain b ike trail w ill be ea sil y accessible. A mo tor cycle trade show and bicycle tri als d em onstration b y Wo rld Champ ion Libor Karas of th e Cannondale /Volvo team will be highlights of the off-course festiv ities. The official host hotel is the Sheraton Tar a Airport Hot el in Warwick, Rhod e Island (410/738-4000). Ticket pri ces are as follows: Full package - $25 - includes all practice days, as well as bo th da ys of competition. One d ay - $15 - in cludes admi ssion for eit her Saturday or Sund ay. Children under the age of 12 are free, and tic kets may be purchased in advance by phoning 800/827-3399. (:\ Confirmed entries Canada Ryon Bell (G-G) Michael Guns (Seo) Richard Dawdy (G-G) Derek Thomas (Bet) France Bruno Camo zzi (G-G) Great Britain Steve Colley (G-G) Doug Lampkin (Bet) Graham Jarvi s (Sco) Lonny Hallsted (Bet)" Ire land Robert Crawford (Bet) Italy Piero Sembenini (G-G) Donato Miglio (Bet) Diego Bosis (G-G) Japan Takahisa Fujinarni (Hon) Taku rni Narita (Bet) Kenichi Kuroyama (Bet) Tomoyuki Ogawa (Bet) Sp ain Jordi Tarres'(G-G) Marcel [ustribo (Bet) Jose Benitez (G-G) Gabriel Reyes (Mon) Marc Colome r (Mo n) Amos Bilbao (G-G) Joan Pons (Fari) David Cobos (G-G) Un ited States Geoff Aaron (Bet) Ryan Young (G-G) Jess Kem pkes (G-G) Raymond Peters (Sco) Matt Moore (G-G) •American LaM)' Hallsted will compete under Briti!Jhucense . as he is spending the 1996 seaso n abro ad to giUnexperience.