Disappointment For Lampkin At Centenary Scott Trial

A drowned bike during the latter stages of the competition prevented Red Bull athlete Dougie Lampkin from recording back to back wins at the World famous Scott time and observation Trial held in the North Yorkshire hills and that celebrated it one hundred year anniversary yesterday.

Lampkin was to finish the day in third place as just six marks separated the top three riders in what remains regarded as the toughest single day event of its type on the planet. Dougie was actually best on observation in the sections despite his mechanical difficulties, but was to lose out when time penalties were added to give the final totals.

Thirty-eight-year-old Dougie was bidding for a fifth victory in this unique event to take him clear of the four wins that he currently shares with his father Martin, who was as ever on hand during yesterday's Trial to support his eldest son in his latest plight for success.

Dougie could not hide his disappointment as he crossed the finish line knowing that his water filled engine had more than likely cost him the win in one of the few events he now rides in each year, and one he had particularly targeted and trained specifically for over recent weeks.

The event was eventually won by fellow Yorkshireman James Dabill on a total of forty-three marks, Michael Brown took the runners-up spot four marks back leaving Dougie to complete the podium line up one mark shy of fifty after more than five fast and furious hours in the saddle.

Speaking after the event Dougie said. "I am absolutely gutted to have been so close to taking the win, especially with it being the centenary edition of the Scott, but I kind of knew that the marks in the last few sections when the bike would hardly run would have probably cost me."

"I made a couple of mistakes early on that I wasn't happy about, but after that I really settled down and felt strong for the rest of day until I managed to submerge the bike underwater in between sections after the sixth and final fuel check."

"It took a bit of getting going, and with the amount of mud that was caked around the carb I knew it was too much of a risk and was going to take too much time to strip it down."

"From then on in it was just a case of trying to keep it running and to try to get through the remaining sections, but I knew I was in trouble when I had to push out of three of the last six sections, and it is those nine marks that have cost me."

"It obviously wasn't to be, but I would like to finish off by saying well done to both James (Dabill) and Michael (Brown) who have both ridden well today."

With little time to rest his weary body, Lampkin will visit the Infiniti Red Bull Racing F1 factory later this week and complete filming of a separate Red Bull project before he then heads out to Milan show early next week to unveil the new Vertigo Trial bike that he has been working on during the last year.