DOUGIE Lampkinfs sixth place in the wind and rain that swept the second world trials championship round in Northern Ireland on Sunday was hardly a confidence booster, after his near miss in Luxembourg seven days ago, when one penalty kept the twelve times world champion off the podium.

Predictably the coastline in the Bangor area is hardly the ideal place to run a world trial, and so it turned out that all the competitors, in the world trial on Sunday, and the UEM qualifying round on Saturday were either blown off course, and almost into the Irish Sea, or chilled to the bone by the Arctic winds.

Many of the sections were virtually in the sea, or feet, rather than yards, from it. At least there was some good news from the Emerald Isle on Saturday and Sunday. Alexz Wigg won Sundayfs Junior Cup from fellow Brit Sam Haslam and leads that championship.

Jack Challoner upped his game on Sunday to win the FIM Youth class from American Patrick Smage, and Richmondfs Jonathan Richardson grabbed seventh place and nine championship points. Challoner now leads the Youth championship series.

On Saturday, Michael Brown won the UEM Cup event with Haslam and Wigg in third and fourth places. Jack Challoner was placed fifth in the UEM Junior class, while Jonathan Richardson finished eighth.

DARLINGTON roamed into the heartlands of Scott Trial country on Sunday, heading west of the famed Orgate Falls to Telfit Farm for their AMCA trial, appropriately named the eTelfit Trialf.

It was an arctic adventure for the Telfit, with overnight snow blanketing most of Richmondshire and a freezing temperature to boot. The plan for the third event in the championship series was four laps of 11 sections, but that went down to nine when clerk of course Nigel Cummins found it impossible to reach two sections.

He marked a tenth section in Orgate Gill, then found that just five observers had volunteered, so the event went down to three laps, for the benefit of the observers.

Within half an hour of the first of 60 competitors leaving the start the snow arrived with a vengeance and blotted out the scenery, and the riders. From that point riders rode the sections twice to cut down on exposure time. Despite the conditions, only 19 riders dropped out of the trial.

It turned out to be a battle of youth, and experience but judging by the overall result Richard Sadler, at just 14, possessed by qualities.

The West Witton lad got round on three marks, while Mark Willis dropped 13 including a stop in the fifth section on lap one.

Robyn Alderson and cousins Hannah and Chloe Richardson warmed up for the womenfs championship next Sunday at Ipstones. Robyn and Chloe won their classes but Hannah was posted as a retiree.

MARK Willis completed his weekend double with another winning ride at Iron banks on Sunday. The Gilling West rider won his class the previous day at Telfitt, and ran away with the clubman category in the Richmond clubfs Dads and Lads trial at Iron Banks.

Again snow affected the course, and for the beginners, the end result.

The course planners, David Peacock and Nathan Stones, two very experienced riders, had set the event out for three laps and a dozen sections for dryish conditions, but the snow changed that plan and many of the modest hill sections became skating rinks.

RIPON came under fire from the snow at Winksley on Sunday, when the entire Jack Leslie Ellis trials course vanished under a blizzard half an hour after the 114 riders had cleared the opening group of sections at Hencliffe.

Fortunately, Keith Blythe and his course plotters were armed and ready for any weather changes. It all came as forecasted though, but the two-lap 20- section road based course was marked out with snow in mind so the scores did not rocket in either hard course or clubman classes.

Ian Austermuhle and Dan Thorpe jousted on a dozen, Thorpey one more than Ian after an early holly bush encounter.

Lakelander Stuart Gaskell lifted the clubman class from Richmondfs Simon Williamson and Acklamfs Motorcycles front runner Joel Sadler. Austermuhle emerged as overall winner.

MIKE and Bryan Kendra travelled to remote Deepdale to plot a course for the second round of the Eboracum clubfs closed championship series, but the brothers were keeping a close watch on the weather forecasts, and the situation was not loking good at all for Sundayfs event.

However, Sunday dawned fine and bright as 104 riders assembled to ride the four-lap ten-section course, but wintry showers did show up during the day.

Simon Kershaw, the centre trials champion, won the day but Andy Chilton was right on his case and finished just a single mark behind the Scarborough rider.

GLORIOUS sunshine greeted 45 riders who travelled to Harrowbank Quarry, near Stanhope, on Sunday, where Durham County Trials Club had laid on an expert and easy course, for the third round of the North East Centre Championship.

Within an hour of the start however, there was a snow storm which quickly reduced the trial to three laps and the entry to about 30 riders.