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/128319
Who Else But Lampkin? w: th the World Indoor Champ ionship a bitt er memo ry for Doug ie Lampkin, th e reaf Wo rld Champ ionship got under way, April 3-'1, with Ireland playing host to the opening two ro unds of the Wo rld Trials Champions hip - and it was Lampkin showing that he is still the man to beat. Th e Repso l Montesa/HRC rider split wins w ith his teamm ate Takahisa Fujinami over the two-day even t held in Bangor, Ireland , but it was Lampkin who came away w ith th e lead in the Wo rld Championship after posting a 2-1 finish, besting Fujinami's 1-'1. He avy rain duri ng th e very early hours of Saturday helped satura te the steep roc k faces and muddy banks and in doing so instan tly increas ed the severity of the sec tions and took the course to a level of difficulty neve r o riginally intended. It was Fujinami and Gas Gas' Adam Raga who made the early running, the duo es caping the high step in the seco nd haza rd with o ne mark and a clean ride , respectively. In co ntrast, Lampkin again failed at the same haza rd that had caused him problems 12 mo nths ea rlier, and ironically cost him the victory o n the opening day in Ireland last year. The expectat ion for Raga to continue the form that recendy took him to his second Wo rld indoo r crown was high and perha ps weighe d heavily o n the yo ung Spaniard , and his assault weakened as the lap went on . Typically, Lampkin rode himself back into contention as the surround ing conditions continued to dete riorate due to more frequent heavy showers, but it was Fujinami drawing first blood with a win in day one. "It is an important victo ry for me here today; when the conditions are so wet and muddy, everyone expects Lampkin to win, but like last year I have again showed that I can now match him and beat him eve n when the sect ions are very tough ," Fujinam i said in a team release. ' ~ft e r five seas o ns of finishing second to Lampkin in the championship , again I must push very hard to reach my dream. It will not be easy to take away his crown, but today is a str o ng start." When Lampkin cleaned secti on two on Sunday, it showed that he meant business . Still, Fujinami matched him unt il a disastro us sectio n 12 put him back. At the end of the second day, it was Lampkin out fro nt. "Tha t feels muc h, much better," Lampkin said. "I was de sperate to win in fro nt of my "Based on the success of our previouscon- ferences , we're confident that the 2006 event will be a valuable experience for all who attend." The first three AMA Women & Motorcycling Conferences were held in 1997, 2000 and 2002 . Nearly 700 women and men attended the 2002 conference from nearly every U.S. state and several foreign countries. Athens was chosen as the site of the 2006 AMA Women & Motorcycling Conference for its excellent facilities and for its proximity to great motorcycle riding, the AMA says. The AHA is working closely with the leadership of national women's motorcycling organizations ~ includ ing Motor Maids, Twisty Sisterz, Women in the Wind, Women on Wheels , Women's Intemational Motorcycle Association -USA, and Women's Motorcyclist Foundation - to plan the 2006 conference. The AMA will announce more details about the 2006 AMA Women & Motorcycling Conference in the coming months . For more information, visit www.womenandmotorcycling.com or www.AMADirectlink.com. BOO/AHA-JOIN . 8 APRIL 14, 2004 • CYCLE NEWS or me to clean section two this mo rning, as that really set me up fo r the day. Apart fro m the five in section 14 on the last lap, it has been a near-perfect day." Beta's Albert Cabestany ended up th ird on the first day beh ind the two Ho nda men , with Raga taking fo urth . Montesa's Mark Fre ixa ended up fifth. O n Sunday, Cabestany rebounded to finish second beh ind Lampkin, with Raga th ird . Fujinami held on for fo urt h ahead of Gas Gas' Jeron i Fajardo. After o ne round (two events), Lampkin leads Fujinami, 37-33 , with Ca bes tany third on 32 points. The next round is in Po rt ugal on April 17- 18. More Air Modules Arrive Women & Motorcycling Conference Set For 2006 The AMA has announced that the fourth AMA Women & Motorcycling Conference will be held June 29 through July 3, 2006 , in Athens, Georgia. "The AMA is pleased to once again host the Women & Motorcycling Conference," said Robert Rasor, president of the AMA home fans today after missing out yesterday, and with Fujinami finishing fo urt h, it has also let me open up a small lea d in the championsh ip. As I predicted yesterday, everyone has rea lly raised their game to day, so I needed to be at my best. It was so impo rtan t for call As part of an ongo ing effort to pro mo te safety at AMA Chevrolet Supe rb ike Champi onship eve nts, Roadr acing Wo rld Action Fund Inc. delivered six air mo du les to AMA Pro Racing d uring the Yamaha Supe rb ike Challenge at California Speedway, April 2-4, acco rding to AMA Pro Racing. Air modules, also called soft barriers, are inflatable air bags positioned against hard objects around race tracks. For mo re than a decad e, AHA Pro Racing has tra nsported, maintained and deployed air modules at race tracks aro und the co untry in an effort to improve safety for the riders, according to AHA Pro Racing. In addition to air modules purchased directly by the sanctioning body, Road racing World Actio n Fund Inc. has to date sec ured 47 units to taiing 1410 linea r fee t for use by AHA Pro Racing. "O ur goal is to demonstrate the benefits of air mod ules, including their ability to 40th Anniv ersary decrease serious mjunes by lessening the fo rce of rider imp acts ," Road racing World Actio n Fund Inc. presiden t John Ulrich said in an AMA release. "We have worked with both Airfe nce Safety Systems in Australia and Alpina Sicherheitssyste me in Austr ia to sec ure the soft barr iers." ':.\MA Pro Racing con tinues to aggressively promote safety at all AMA-sanctio ned events, particularly in cooperation w ith our track partners," AHA Pro Racing vice pres ident, director of communications Kerry Gra eb e r said. "Road raci ng World Action Fund has taken a very proact ive role in the implementation of air modu les, and we rec ognize those e fforts . In add ition to the use of air modu les wh ere appropriate, AHA Pro Rating continues to review all track-related safety issues. This ongoing effo rt has resulted in a number of alterations to tracks on the AMA sched ule. We will co ntinue to focus on safety as part of ou r operational agenda."