Dougie Lampkin once again finished in a lowly sixth place for the second week running, as the British rider failed to find his form at the seventh round of the 2007 World Indoor series held in Minorca, Spain earlier tonight. Lampkin is now equal on points with Fajardo in the championship standings, and will need to finish ahead of his young Spanish rival if he is to hold on to fifth position in the final rankings.
The trial was defined by the usual array of Spanish sections, the course being made up of seven observed hazards and one dual lane race. Dougie's night was over before it even began, as he quickly clocked up three fives as he failed to crest the three biggest steps of the event in three separate sections. The recent cancellation of the round in Argentina, meant that the normal rotation starting order system could not be used, and instead Lampkin found himself at the head of the field as he fell foul of the straight forward ballot.
With the exception of the three front runners, the same three steps caused all the riders problems, but it was the final two hazards that pushed Dougie further down the finishing order as he recorded a 3-2 closing performance as in contrast Fujinami and Fajardo went 0 - 0. Whilst Lampkin had nothing to celebrate on the evening, he was amongst the first to congratulate his new team mate Toni Bou, who clinched his first ever World title by finishing as runner up in Minorca behind Cabestany, and importantly ahead of Raga.
With Argentina now missing from the calendar, Lampkin has just one more indoor event to compete in, that being the final round in Madrid in mid March, but in the more immediate future Dougie will move outdoors for the first round of the Spanish domestic series next weekend.
Lampkin stated: " It's been another bad night for me, but on the other hand it has been a brilliant one from the Repsol Montesa HRC team. I can't speak highly enough of Toni and what he has achieved, I am truly over the moon for him. From my own point of view I am looking forward to riding outdoors next Sunday."
Current championship standings:
- 1: Bou - 59 (World Champion)
- 2: Cabestany - 49
- 3: Raga - 47
- 4: Fujinami - 37
- 5: Lampkin - 30
- 6: Fajardo - 30
Dougie Lampkin's next event: 04/03/07 Sunday - Cordoba, Spain Rnd 1 Spanish Outdoor Chp.