Dougie Lampkin gets a grip

Thirty-five year old off road extraordinaire Dougie Lampkin is best known for his amazing ability on a trials motorcycle, having been crowned FIM Trial World Champion no less than twelve times. Although the Red Bull athlete has little spare time, he still managed to find a gap in his busy schedule to compete in the 2011 FIM Indoor Enduro World Championship. Despite struggling with bad fortune and illness Dougie finished thirteenth in the highly competitive series – no mean feat for a man still relatively new to enduro.

 
With the Indoor championship all but forgotten Dougie’s attention then shifted to the inaugural running of the Eddy X-treme enduro at Tong, Leeds. Running an extreme event at the end of January requires two things; thermals and grip. With the cream of the country lined up for the first of two races Dougie went bar to bar with the UK’s best riders. Battling for well over an hour Dougie claimed a well-deserved second place onboard his Gas Gas machine, closely behind Manxman David Knight. His second race was also successful as the Yorkshireman claimed the third step on the podium.
 
“The venue at Tong includes a little bit of everything and the wet winter weather had made the rock slabs particularly slippery. There were quite a few riders struggling to find grip but it wasn’t a problem I had. Having the correct tyres fitted is essential and there is no doubt that the ‘Metzeler 6 Days’ were the ultimate choice.”
 

Only two weeks after his gruelling performance at Leeds, Dougie was back on his bike facing an even greater challenge. Hells Gate is classed as one of the toughest extreme enduros in the World and having claimed victory in 2010 Dougie would be out for the kill. After several hours of racing around the Italian mountains there were only two competitors left; unfortunately Dougie was forced to settle for second place, but it was still an outstanding achievement.

“Hell’s Gate was as tough as ever, the steep terrain means that traction is key to a good result, and with Metzeler tyres I had both good grip and the ability to turn with confidence.”
 
Whilst Dougie’s enduro schedule has quietened down since the start of the season he will be competing in the Erzberg Rodeo during late June as well as the Weston Beach Enduro in early October.
 
“I’m looking forward to both Erzberg and Weston. They are very different events but both require huge amounts of energy and closer to the time I’ll be training on a regular basis. I have complete faith in Metzeler and the products they produce.”

Keep up to date with Dougie at www.dougielampkin.co.uk 

12 x Trial World Champion Dougie Lampkin takes on Extreme Enduro with Metzeler!

12 x Trial World Champion Dougie Lampkin has joined Gas Gas in 2011 to ride Extreme Enduro and the FIM Indoor Enduro World Championship using Metzeler 6 Days tyres.

The thirty-four year old British star recently came in second place in the gruelling Hells Gate Enduro after he signed a three-year contract with Gas Gas for both Enduro and Trials.

As well as continuing to compete at the highest level in both disciplines, Lampkin will also play an important role in helping Gas Gas develop both their trial and enduro products for racing activities and for end users.

The three-year agreement between Lampkin and Gas Gas represents the start of a new era for the former FIM Trial World champion, with Dougie having never previously ridden for the Girona based company.

Speaking about his move, Lampkin commented. “This is an exciting opportunity for me and one I am delighted to embrace as Gas Gas have shown a real desire and passion for me to become a part of their team. The two stroke Gas Gas enduro models are amongst the best in their class, and I think this will really help me at the indoor and extreme events. Although I have had some good results to date in these type of competitions, I feel that I can improve my performances given the benefits offered by the weight and power of the Gas Gas enduro machine and the Metzeler www.metzelermoto.co.uk tyres have clearly shown they are the tyres to have in these Extreme conditions.”

 
Keep up to date with Dougie at www.dougielampkin.co.uk