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EVENTS EDITED BY CAMERON COATNEY World Championship Indoor Trials Series, Round 7: Madrid , , I I , Ib----------'-----------------------------' , I By John Dickinson MADRID, SPAIN, MAR. 7 t was no real shock that Beta-mounted Doug Lampkin managed to land his second consecutive Indoor Trials World Championship. After all, Lampkin only had to finish at this final round of the series, and thus far in the season he has indeed finished - usually first. No, the real shock was who won this time: Gas Gas rider David Cobos. It was the young Spaniard's first-ever indoor win, and after the length of the season he appeared finally to have come to grips with the indoor scene. It was another Spaniard in second place, Amos Bilbao, who really stepped it up in front of his home crowd. That fact, combined with Lampkin's Beta going slightly off-song in the final, put Bilbao ahead of Lampkin at the end of the night. With the question of who would be champion all but solved, the focus had turned to who would finish second. Marc Colomer and Steve Colley were set to slug it out, but both riders had unfortunate nights, Colomer taking a hard fall and Colley riding a borrowed bike that never ran right. The result was that Colomer kept second in the championship, with Colley third. The Madrid trial was excellent, and organizers Esedos had crammed 11 sections, plus a high jump and two races, into the arena. The sections were short and sharp, and while all could catch you out, only the giant cigarette packs of the sixth section brought everyone to a standstill. Just six riders contested the event - three Brits (Lampkin, Colley and Graham Jarvis) and three Spaniards (Colomer, Bilbao and Cobos). I 00 0\ 0\ ,..... ,....., ..... l-< 0... -< 38 (Above left) Young David Cobos took his first-ever indoor trials win, taking the top spot in front of his home~ountry crowd. (Left) Lampkin had a bit of an off night, but it wasn't enough to keep him from becoming the Indoor Trials World Champion for the second consecutive year. Jarvis was first into the ring but it wouldn't come to much. The clutch on his borrowed Scorpa was slipping badly right from the start. "I gunned it to the high jump and when 1 reached the ramp, it was going slower than when I set off," Jarvis said. He dropped 35 marks, nowhere near what was needed to qualify. Colley came. next, and righ t from the start it was obvious he too was fighting a sick bike. The brand-new on-loan Gas Gas was running much too rich, and although he put in seven excellent clean rides on the nine sections (two removed for the first lap), a five on the second sub plus another one when the bike refused to rev out on the waterfall hurt his chances. Then the bike went all the way sick on the high jump, almost making Colley crash. His qualification didn't look likely. Enter Lampkin. The Beta factory rider seemed to be in the mood to demonstrate why he is the undisputed world number one. He took a surprise dab on the second section, took his compulsory five on the cigarette packs for which the opening steps were just too high, then made the only clean of the lap on the Fortuna waterfall - a regular feature of Spani h indoor events - which the organizers had extended by an additional five feet beyond the norm. Lampkin's eight-mark total looked awesome. It looked even better after Gas Gas teamma tes Co~os and Bilbao did their stuff. The highly charged atmosphere seemed to urge Bilbao to a level at which he simply hasn't ridden this year. Even so, he ended on 17, one point behind his teenage compatriot, who really looked like he had finally figured out the indoor technique. Former champion Colomer was last out, and with the crowd urging him on, he really looked determined. The Montesa rider cleaned the opening four ections on his works machine, then took the compulsory five. Colomer dropped two more marks on the ninth section prior to the waterfall. He looked like he had the hazard cracked, but he drifted too far left on the summit and got into some wheelspin. He tried to dab for a save, but it w.as into thin air for him as the bike revved off the section and landed yards away. Colomer, meanwhile, somersaulted 15 feet, landing horizontally in 6 inches of wa ter with a huge splash. Colomer checked himself out for a moment, changed gear and completed the high jump and races to be sure he collected what championship points he could, then opted out of the event after the final shock set in, allowing Bilbao the chance to go for glory. And so it was set: Lampkin, Cobos and Bilbao would contest the final. Urged on by the highly partisan crowd, the Spaniards rode with apparent inspiration. Cobos dabbed the opener, then took two 011 the second, while Bilbao took a deliberate dab on the second sub. Lampkin ignored the advice of his father to do the sam!! and tried to pull a fancy aerial turn, which he almost pulled off - but only almost. The crowd went mad when he pulled a maximum in the section. Cobos and Bilbao looked determined .to keep the champion down, and at the seventh section it was all over for Lampkin. His Beta suddenly took a severe dislike to revving ou t to max rpm and Lampkin pretty much signed his thirdplace certificate at the top of the long staircase section. Instead of taking a rest ()n the intermediate steps, the likable Brit tried to ride all the steps in one run and the bike checked out on the top step. That was it, as Cobos seized his opportunity to win his first-ever indoor trial, and a World Championship one at that. As for Lampkin, he was still pleased with the ou tcome. "1 would like to have won it, but the World Championship was my real goal," Lampkin said. "I'm happy." eN Spanish Indoor Trial Madrid, Spain Results: March 7, 1998 (Round 7 of 7) 1 QUAL, 1. Doug Lampkin (Bet) 8; 2. David Cobos (C-C) 12; 3. Marc Colomer (Mon) 16; 4. Amos Bilbao (GG) 17; 5. Steve Colley (G-G) 22; 6. Graham Jarvis (Seo) 35. FINAL: 1. David Cobos (G-C) 12; 2. Amos Bilbao (G-G) 14; 3. Doug Lampkin (Bet) 17. FINAL WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP INDOOR TRIALS SERIES POINT STANDINGS (AI'er 1 of 1 ro'unds): 1. Doug Lampkin 036/5 wiJ;'ls); 2. Ma.rc Colomer (109); 3. Steve CoUey 002/1); 4. David Cobos (90/1); 5. Amos Bilbao (88); 6. Graham Jarvis (43).