Rounds 13-14: Rhode Island
By Henny Ray Abrams
WSTGREENWICH, RI, JUNE 2frV
0 W that he's finished second, I'm looking for a new
rid er," Martin Lampkin
jo ki ng ly sa id of his son
Dougie, the Beta-riding two-time defending World Trial s Cha m pion whose perfect season came to an end on the second
of two stea my days of the Wagner Cup in
Wes t Greenwich, Rhod e Island. "Someone with a bit of talent."
.
Lampkin could afford to joke. Acting.
as always, as his son's minder, the elder
La mpkin , a former World C ha mp io n
himself, preceded his so n through th e
sections, bou nding along and barking out
"N
en
en
en
-
encouragement and advice in his thick
Yorkshire accen t. In Saturday's sec ond
loop, Dougie scored a one for the 15-section course. On Sunda y he went o ne,
exactly one, bett er, by becoming the first
rider in World Championship histo ry to
eve r d ean an entire lool? by zeroing the
second lap.
"It's so mething I've been trying for,"
he said. "I just mad e two mistakes on the
first loop and that was it, really, the da y's
over with."
But it was a bittersweet mark since, on
the same da y, his perfect season carne to
an end. After winning the first 13 rounds
in a row, in cluding Saturday' S loops,
Lampkin took second on Sunday to Montes a Honda H RC's Marc Colomer.
Thou gh he zeroed the second lap, he took
a very uncharacteristic 13 in the first loop;
including a pair of fives, while Colo me r
had his bes t roun d of the seaso n by dropping only nine all day. Even so, the Englishman was phil osop hical abou t the end
of his run, whic h came in round seven of
the cham pionship.
"If it'd been at the start of the season
and so mebody wou ld've said yo u ca n
win until America, ev ery single round,
you'd have taken it," he said . "Like I said
before, it wasn' t of interest to m e. The
only thing that's of in terest to me is the
end of the season."
With three rounds remaining. induding next week 's second American round
(Left ) Dougie lampkin may have lost for
the first time all season on the second day
of th e Wagner Cup round of the World
Cham pionship Trials Series , but it didn't
prevent him from still taking overa ll
honors on the weekend.
(Below left ) Marc Colo mer was the man
who defeated Lampkin on Sunday.
(Below) U.S. National Champion Geoff
Aaron struggled and ended up 20th and
21st ove r the two days In Rhode Island.
