DOUGIE Lampkin, as predicted a few weeks ago in this column, signed for the mighty Montesa-Honda organisation for the next two years.

They have massive backing from world-wide industrial radiator producers Radson, whose Dutch-based company will underwrite Dougie's defence and intent on winning another five more world trials titles to beat former champion Jordi Tarres's record seven world crowns.

Honda, under whose HRC development wing comes immense expertise in the Grand Prix and motocross avenues of the sport, have worked round the clock with the Montesa trials division in Spain to come up with a package that suits the 23-year-old Silsden star, and in testing over the last few weeks at highly secret venues reports have filtered through that Dougie and Montesa are likely to form an even more powerful combination than Beta did last year.

Radson are no strangers to motorcycle sport. They have a close tie with Honda after their top Honda rider Fredric Bolley won the world title and this year have signed with Stefan Everts and his Husqvarna team to try and do a double with Lampkin.

Says Lampkin: "I am very proud and excited to be joining Radson and Montesa-Honda. Both companies have a great history with racing and more importantly with winning - something I share with the same passion, for I have won the world championship for the last three years of the last century and nothing would make me more happy than to begin the new millennium by winning again, this time for Radson Montesa-Honda.

"I am delighted to have Radson Radiators as our main sponsor. They have worked well with Stefan Everts and Honda in motorcross. I hope that we can build a similar long-term relationship that brings both parties great success. It is going to be an exciting new chapter in my sporting career; there are a lot of things to learn changing to a new team, but I am very motivated by the challenge. I know what I want and Montesa-Honda have the technical knowledge to give me exactly the bike I can win trials on".

Radson Radiators is part of the Rettig Group with a turnover in excess of three hundred million pounds and pre-tax profits in the order of £76,000,000 and is one of the largest European block producers of heating and associated equipment.

The Team Lampkin support comes from major producers, Champion spark plugs, Supersprox of Wales for chain sprockets, Castrol lubricants and Renthal handlebars, made in Manchester, while Watkinson Transport at Keighley again sponsor the fuel costs for Team Lampkin transporters for the world-wide title defence which will be decorated by Graham Signs.

The Lampkin deal also pulls in a second member of the team in 19-year-old Twickenham rider Sam Connor, whose main aim is to win the European Championship this year after finishing fourth in the series last season. Lampkin won the title before he shot to world domination so Connor has a target to aim for as well as doing all the world and national championship events on the calendar.

First appearance for the new Radson Montesa-Honda squad will be next Saturday night at the Sheffield Arena where the opening round of the Federation Internationale Motocyclistes kicks off the indoor series, and Dougie Lampkin's title defence of indoor world championship takes place.

Mick Grant headed to West Witton and the bleak Pen Hill on New Year's Day to sample the Darlington Motor Club trial where he won his class on his Ariel machine.

Cookridge lad James Dabill salvaged his weekend, or at least father Mal did, after his brand new Gas Gas bike 'swallowed' an errant steel washer at the mid-week Yeadon and Guiseley trial at Dob Park.

The metal object fell into the engine intake and wrecked a piston and cylinder barrel, and that brought about a trip to Buxton and a two-hour patch up task for importer John Shirt to get the 13-year-old rider back in action. It paid dividends - he won his class.

Ilkley trial

at Dob Park

Ilkley Motor Club headed for Dob Park on Sunday where many top local riders pitted their skills, and balance, against 14 tricky sections in the dense Washburn Valley woodland.

Top rider was Bultaco works runner Graham Jarvis who scored his fourth trials victory in seven days and also his third penalty free victory in the same period. Ben Hemingway headed the expert class ahead of Henry Moorhouse and Beta team boss John Lampkin.

Andrew Carter came good in the novice class winning from Ilkley plumber Andy Tales while demolition contractor Gerald Rathmell, from Timble, won the clubman class from Dacre motor mechanic Ian Myers. James Dabill nursed his patched up Gas Gas round the three laps to win the clubman youth course class.

Results - Experts: 1, G Jarvis (Bultaco), 0; 2, B Hemingway (Beta), 17; 3, H Moorhouse (Gas Gas), 21; 4, J Lampkin (Beta), 22.

Inters: 1, T Kaye (Gas Gas), 25; 2, M Craven (Beta), 37; 3, G Harlowed (Beta), 39.

Novices: 1, A Carter (Montesa), 47; 2, A Tales (Montesa), 61; 3, M Wilson (Montesa), 70.

Youth A: B Naylor (Beta), 69.

Clubmen: 1, G Rathmell (Montesa), 4; 2, I Myers (Bultaco), 8; 3, M Foster (Gas Gas), 11.

Youth Class B: 1, James Dabill (Gas Gas), 2; 2, S Frost (Gas Gas), 20.

Four Brits, four continentals, plus a British reserve, make up the opening round of the world indoor arena championship opening round on Saturday night at the Sheffield Arena.

Good, maybe, but not good enough because due to other commitments Japanese stars Takahisa Fujinami and Kenichi Kuroyama are not at Sheffield so while it is billed as a world qualifier, it is not until it is world-wide, and not European in terms of riders.

Saturday night is all about Dougie Lampkin, Montesa-Honda and new sponsors Radson, versus the rest - will he or won't he win first time out, we shall see. For my money Fujinami could be the man to trip up Dougie this year, he is as determined as the Silsden man.

Mounted on virtually an identical machine but with one essential difference, his bike is a proper Honda fresh out of the same development centre as Mick Doohan's mighty Grand Prix four-cylinder racing bike and that in itself carries the right pedigree when the HRC badge is attached.

Diary Dates

Saturday: FIM International Arena Trial (ticket only), Sheffield Arena (7.00pm).

Sunday: Wetherby DMC trial, Bayliss Gap Farm, Wetherby (10.30am); Yorkshire Classic MCC trial, Cawder Gill Farm, Skipton (10.30am); Middlesbrough DMC trial, Lazenby Bank Woods, Lazenby (10.10am).

Monday: Wetherby DMC club night, The Drover's Inn, Bishop Thornton (8.00pm); Airedale and Pennine MC club night, The Rock and Heifer, Thornton (8.30pm).

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.