Dougie Lampkin cruised home to round off the Spanish national trials championship on Sunday at Viladecavalls, near Barcelona, where he took 17 points and second place in the event having already clinched the title last weekend.
The 25 kilometre lap, and its 15 sections, were dry and dusty, perhaps not the ideal venue to test new parts on his 2002 machine. The Silsden world champion had spent the week before the trial testing new suspensions units and boldly opted to ride the Radson Montesa with all the new parts fitted.
The parts worked just fine but the let down for Lampkin was when he crashed off a rock step at the ninth section on the first lap, that more or less settled the result in favour of Marc Freixa.
Amazingley Dougie finished the domestic championship 26 points clear of all the young Spaniards and stacked up nearly double the points of former world title holder Marc Colomer.
He now will be making his plans for the world indoor and outdoor series which starts in January at the Sheffield Arena.
At Howden Wood Martin Crosswaite and Dan Clark, on Scorpa Yamaha machines, headed home a top quality expert entry in the Bradford Motor Club's first trial at the Silsden venue since Boxing Day last year.
Crosswaite, importer of the Scorpa marque, was doubly pleased when his new youth signing James Dabill took the Youth Class A award and finished a great seventh out of 34 hard course contenders.
Auto 66 staged the final road race meeting of the year at Carnaby Two, the Leconfield helicopter and driver training centre near Beverley where Addingham roofer Mark Dale took a win and a second place on his Coffecare Honda.
Leeds rider Stuart Gregory took a second and two thirds in the same race as Dale, in fact the pair were inches apart in each race.
The Larkspeed Inter-club championship comes to the boil this weekend at Melbourne Airfield, near York, and Ilkley Motor Club have to do something very silly to miss out on another Larkspeed crown, but, as they say, it is not over till the fat lady sings.
According to co-ordinator Carl Davis, only 130 points separate Ilkley from hard charging Sporting Escort, and Chris and Lorraine Leeming have been up front for the latter club on most events.
Just 46 points cover third to seventh, Airedale and Pennine could make the podium, but it is a big but, they are the tailend 'charlies' in seventh.
Elvington Park on Sunday brings the penultimate Auto 66 road race at the York track. Optimistic Peter Hillaby has a date on January 30 booked as well at the same venue. I remember in the dim and distant past Hillaby and his team chipping away the ice on the racing lines on the corners before packing up and going home in disgust.
And finally, trials, I have four on the list this weekend, a little overwhelming after weeks of inactivity by the balance artists.
News on the grass track front, David Brown has dates booked for a new track near Elvington road racing course, on part of the old airfield estate. The first meeting is this coming Sunday and then on November 18 and December 9. Brown terms the land ' roughish' so that will suit motocross riders for which there will be classes at each of the three meetings. Entry is by way of the road race and air museum road but follow the road past the museum and head south for about a mile, it will be signed from the main road.
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