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Published: 09th August 2006

Author: Sean Lawless

Let's kick off this month on the subject of trials and, more specifically, the British round of the WTC that took place at Hawkstone Park at the end of July. Over the weekend more than 8,000 fans turned up at the venue that's much better known for its awesome MX circuit than its sections - but wander outside the confines of the track and it's trials heaven with gravity-defying climbs, vertical steps and evil, gripless tree roots.

From my trials riding days I know that many of the feet-up fraternity are also big into motocross - there's usually a good turn-out of my old balancing buddies from Yarkshire and Cumbria (eh!) at the annual Hawkstone International at the start of the season. But for some reason this doesn't work both ways and I've always got the impression that most motocrossers couldn't give a damn about trials and don't actually have much respect for the sport or its riders.
 Okay, so there's no excuse for lycra one-piece suits outside of back street basement fetish clubs (so Sutty says anyway) - and if Ellgren was good enough for Eddy Lejeune then its good enough for everyone else - but get away from the spray-on spandex for a moment and just look at what the WTC brigade can do.
Some of the sections at Hawkstone were downright terrifying with steps big enough to make free-climbers soil themselves - all tackled with maximum commitment and zero run-up. Of course it takes guts to nail a rhythm section pinned or hit a big tabletop WFO but top trials riders need super-sized furry fellas too (something all too obvious given the lycra attire) and deserve the full respect of anyone who rides off-road.
And it's also a sport we're rather bloody good at n'all. Dougie Lampkin beat Stefan Everts into world title double figures back in '01 and although he may no longer be at the peak of his powers there's life in the old Doug (sorry!) yet - and plenty of talented Brits are waiting to step into his boots when he retires. Michael Brown, Alexz Wigg and Sam Haslam did the business at Hawkstone in the supporting Junior and Youth divisions and James Dabill's putting the wind up some of the established aces in his first full WTC season.
I actually owe Dougie a bit of an apology this month having accused him of throwing a 'hissy fit' in our report from Hawkstone (check out the report starting on P98 this month and the photo gallery at www.dirtbikerider.com). Victory at Hawkstone would have given the Yarkshireman his 100th WTC win and he wasn't in any mood to hang around and chat after coming home fourth. Dougie hates to lose and was gutted he didn't hit the ton on home turf - if he'd been happy to hang around and chat to Jack Burnicle he wouldn't have the drive and determination needed to be a 12-time world champ. Simple as that!
Okay, time for some controversy now... The MXdN is coming up quickly (September 23/24 if you don't already know) and it appears there's a bit of dithering with the British squad. 'Rob Herring is pleased to announce details of the riders who MAY form the Team GB line-up' says the press release from ACU HQ. May? Get off the bloody fence and pick the bloody team. The four riders in with a shout are Billy MacKenzie, Carl Nunn, James Noble and Tommy Searle - so that's four riders who don't know whether they're in or out and face an anxious wait, probably right up until the August 30 deadline.
In my mind it's dead simple and the team we need to choose can be summed up in five words - Billy Mac, Nunny, Tommy Gun! No disrespect to James - he's got more MX talent in his pinkie than I've got in my whole body and can be relied on to post a solid, dependable score. And as our #1 MX1 pilot he's also an easy (ie safe) choice to make - but balls to playing safe, balls to being timid with team selection, balls to worrying what other people think!
Come on Rob - you didn't know how to ride conservatively so don't pick your team that way. Live dangerously. How exciting at our home MXdN with masses of home support would it be to have Nunny and Billy going mental on 450s and Tommy giving it beans on a 250F? We haven't really got a cat in hell's chance of winning so why bother about settling for a respectable finish? Take a gamble, pick the three most exciting riders in the country and let's take it to the Yanks - even if it only lasts for five furious laps it'll be worth it! And if it lasts for longer you just never know...