Lampkin, Fujinami Tie In Minnesota

Paul Carruthers | June 2, 2002

Dougie Lampkin (Montesa-HRC Cota 315R) and Takahisa Fujinami (Montesa-HRC RTL 250) finished with a 21-point tie on the first day of the United States Grand Prix Trial yesterday, the third scoring round for the World Championship, this one being held in Duluth, Minnesota.

The British rider maintained his invincibility after achieving the best partial results in the zones. Lampkin and Fujinami accomplished the third double for Montesa-HRC for the current season and remain at the top of the overall standing. David Cobos, the other member of this team, finished sixth and maintains his seventh place in the overall.

Contested before some 4500 spectators, over rocky areas longer than usual and on a course alternating with dry, dusty sections and damp sections with a river-like layout, the first day of the American trial proved both selective and tough. After some mistakes in the first zones stage, the Montesa-HRC riders showed their style in the second lap, where they achieved the three best scores. The equality between Lampkin and Fujinami in the final score was such that as well as getting the same marks, they also tied through surpassing 20 areas without penalty. The final outcome was thus decided by ‘some’ in the zones, in this case six for the British rider and four for the Japanese rider.

Dougie Lampkin: “It was very difficult for me to win today and I count myself lucky for having won and adding 20 more points. It’s always good to win. We’ll now analyze the mistakes so they won’t be repeated tomorrow.”