Dougie Lampkin Prepares to Bid farewell to Sheffield on January 7th 2012
The King of Steel is set to take his final bow. Following a few previous aborted attempts to say goodbye, Dougie Lampkin – Gas Gas will finally bid farewell to Sheffield indoor trial on Saturday 7th January 2012, in what has now been confirmed as his last ever appearance at his favourite event. Lampkin has ridden in every Sheffield indoor trial since its inception in 1996, with the now thirty-five year old holding a record-breaking run of fifteen consecutive appearances and an unequalled eight successive wins over the last decade and a half.
As you might expect Dougie is preparing to sign off in style, and has been working with long standing sponsors Red Bull, on a special “King of Steel” challenge set to take place in the interval of the main event on Saturday 8th January 2012. As well as competing in the trial itself, Lampkin will line up against an invited entry made up of fellow Red Bull athletes, rivals and friends from a range of motorcycle disciplines and other two wheel sports in a unique head to head competition where he will look to retain his title as Sheffield’s King of Steel.
A specially designed dual lane course with a steel theme will be constructed in the famous Yorkshire arena over which the Gas Gas factory rider will race his various rivals in a Dougie versus the rest of the World type challenge. Ex World Superbike champion and close friend Neil Hodgson, triple Enduro World champion David Knight, Gas Gas team-mate and Red Bull rider Adam Raga, long time rival Takahisa Fujinami plus downhill mountain bike legend Steve Peat are just a taste of the opposition Lampkin can expect to come up against, with other challengers to be revealed in due course. Â
Sheffield indoor trial is always a massive occasion and one where Dougie continues to enjoy incredible home support, however this edition of the event promises to be even more special when Lampkin finally says an emotional and final goodbye to his favourite venue. With this in mind, the tough as steel character that is Dougie Lampkin made the following statement.
“Sheffield indoor trial has been good to me over the years and has provided me with many great memories especially from those early editions when I was hard to beat. It is no secret that this event remains my favourite competition anywhere in the World and one that I look forward to each year.”
“The support the British fans have given me over the last decade and a half is simply incredible and is something I am very grateful for, as they have certainly played a massive part in making Sheffield indoor trial so special for me.”
“After so many fantastic battles inside Sheffield arena, unfortunately the time has finally come for me to say good bye to this competition and to the British fans with one last ride. Hopefully I can dig out one last bit of magic to give the fans something to cheer about on what is certainly going to be a strange occasion for me.”
“Although the night is sure to be a bit sad, I am really looking forward to retaining my King of Steel title in the Red Bull challenge that has been devised to mark this special moment. If anyone thinks I am leaving without a fight they will be wrong, so make sure you are there to witness this piece of Sheffield history.”
To book tickets for this event please visit www.motorpointarenasheffield.co.uk or call 0114 2 56 56 56.