It proved yet another historic outing for long standing Red Bull athlete Dougie Lampkin as the now forty-two-year-old secured his sixth win at the Scott Trial, which remains regarded as the toughest single day event in the calendar. Twenty-four years since he recorded his initial victory at this iconic event Lampkin completed a very special double-double as he added the Scott triumph to his Scottish Six Day Trial win for the second year in a row.
Heavy rain on the final lead up to the trial saw conditions at their most severe out on the north Yorkshire moors, with modifications to the route and some sections needed as water levels rose quickly leaving the local rivers and streams extremely deep and swollen.
Once again Dougie found himself up against a quality field of two hundred riders that included multiple British champion and World championship contender James Dabill, who on paper as a previous winner of this event looked to be his strongest challenger. Separated by just a few numbers at the back of the field, Lampkin was soon hunting down his main rival Dabill.
However it was fellow TrialGP rider Jack Price who was to take up the running at the head of the field and was to establish himself as Dougie‘s new main rival with some solid rides in the watery hazards and great speed over the sodden ground. Using all his experience gained over his twenty-year plus career, Lampkin kept his young contender within his sights as he fought his way through the rising water that was waist deep in places.
Riding his fuel injected Vertigo Combat DL12 replica, Dougie enjoyed a problem-free day despite the bike being immersed in water up to the handlebars on several occasions during his five-hour plus ordeal. Running a few minutes behind Price for most of the day Lampkin was second home despite being almost last man away at the start on what had been a rain-lashed event for the veteran campaigner.
Although satisfied with his performance and speed not to mention the reliability of his bike, Dougie was not sure if he had done enough to take the win for a second year in a row, in the ultra-tough conditions. After an anguishing wait whilst the wet score cards were tallied up, Dougie was finally declared the victor late the same night with a ten-mark advantage over second placed Price, who was fastest on time but could not match Lampkin‘s best performance on observation. Dabill completed the top three.
After getting his hands on the famous Alfred Scott Memorial Trophy for a sixth time, Lampkin said. "It was hard to make a difference today as it was a case of just making it through some sections as the water was as deep as I have ever seen it in some places. Thankfully with no carburetor and a high level airbox the Vertigo ran perfectly all day even when the water was up and over the fork yolks."
Dougie continued. "It‘s been a real battle out there today, and I mean a battle so congratulations to all the riders who made it to the finish and a big thanks to all the observers who have been stood out in the rain for several hours."
Lampkin ended by adding. "Each year it becomes harder to beat the younger guys, but again I have shown I can still compete with them and even beat them too. To win both the Scottish and the Scott again at this stage in my career is massive and is something I am very proud of, especially when I don‘t know how many more years my body is going to stand up to that kind of beating."