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C Y C L E N E W S • JULY 5,2006 13 T he Repsol Montesa HRC team took the top two places at the French Grand Prix held in La Chatre, France, on June 25, with Dougie Lampkin narrowly defeating his teammate Takahisa Fujinami on a tie breaker. Beta's Antonio Bou joined the Repsol pair on the rostrum, with World Championship points leader Adam Raga riding his Gas Gas to a fourth- place finish. Lampkin, riding the factory Cota 4RT, started his day badly with four maximums in the first four sec- tions. Fujinami was not faring much better, but his run of 3-5-3-5 put him close to the leading trio of Raga, Bou and Sherco's Albert Cabestany, who had all lost 15 marks during the same period. Although the latter part of the first lap saw Fujinami and Lampkin perform better, they could only manage third and sixth place, respectively, as the trial reached the halfway point. Lampkin's second-lap assault aboard the four- stroke Cota 4RT ranks as one of the best rides of the season; his loss of only seven marks up to section 11 was 29 marks better than he had recorded earlier in the day through the same number of hazards. Only Fujinami and Bou could match Lampkin's pace, as the three edged clear of the rest of the field. Four soft marks in the closing three sections brought Lampkin level with Fujinami, but the British rider would take the victory, his first of the year, by having earned two more cleans than his teammate. "It was very important for me to win this week- end if I am to have a chance of taking the title," Lampkin said. "Raga came here with a good advan- tage in the championship, so with him having not made the podium today, it has really helped me to start to close the gap on him. It was a difficult first lap, but I felt I was riding well, so I used the second lap like I was starting a new trial. I am really happy with how I rode on the second lap; it shows just how strong we can be and is a big credit to the team for all the hard work they continue to do." After five rounds of the series, Raga leads Lampkin, 121-110. Bou is third with 102 points, eight clear of Fujinami. Mario Candellone Lampkin's teammate Takahisa Fujinami finished second. Lampkin's teammate Takahisa Fujinami finished second. Dougie Lampkin won the French round of the World Trials Championship. Lampkin And Fujinami One-Two In France Mel Dinesen, 1913-2006 Noted tuner/sponsor Mel Dinesen, the tuner and sponsor of Don Emde's 1972 Daytona 200-winning Yamaha, died of natural causes on June 4 in Oxnard, California, at the age of 93. Dinesen served in both the Navy and Merchant Marines before and during World War II and was later a motorcycle dealer in Bakersfield, California, from 1950 to 1980, selling Indian, AJS, Matchless, Royal Enfield, Parilla, Hodaka and Yamaha motorcycles. He first made headlines as a race tuner when 16-year-old Eddie Mulder won the famed Big Bear Grand Prix on one of his Royal Enfields in the early 1960s. Dinesen went on to sponsor numerous riders from central and Southern California in dirt-track racing before turning to road racing with Ron Pierce, a young Bakersfield rider. Pierce won numerous club and National-level events on Dinesen's Yamahas, which earned Pierce a spot on the Yamaha factory team. That opened the door for Emde to start racing for him about a year later. In 1972, Emde rode Dinesen's 350cc Yamaha to victory in the Daytona 200, marking the first time a two-stroke had won the 200. Don Emde enjoys the winners' circle with Cal Rayborn (right) and Gary Nixon (left). Mel Dinesen is behind Emde at his right, standing next to Floyd Emde. Yamaha tuner Art Barda is behind Nixon. PHOTO FROM THE DON EMDE COLLECTION