Harold Martin Lampkin (28 December 1950 – 2 April 2016) was an English professional

motorcycle A motorcycle (motorbike, bike; uni (if one-wheeled); trike (if three-wheeled); quad (if four-wheeled)) is a lightweight private 1-to-2 passenger personal motor vehicle Steering, steered by a Motorcycle handlebar, handlebar from a saddle-style ...

competitor. He competed in a variety of off-road motorcycle events, but specialized in

observed trials Motorcycle trials, also known as observed trials, often called simply trial or trials, is a non-speed event on specialized motorcycles. The sport is most popular in the United Kingdom and Spain, though there are participants around the globe. Mo ...

competitions, winning the inaugural

FIM Trial World Championship The FIM Trial World Championship and FIM X-Trial World Championship are the most prestigious motorcycle trials tournaments of the world, organised by the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme. The outdoor championship is held since 1964 and ...

held in 1975. In a genre of motorcycling competition that features balletic grace and acrobatic finesse, Lampkin was an iconoclast, using sheer momentum and physical strength to assault trials course sections. He died in 2016 of cancer.

Motorcycling career

The third son in a

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ) is an area of Northern England which was History of Yorkshire, historically a county. Despite no longer being used for administration, Yorkshire retains a strong regional identity. The county was named after its county town, the ...

motorcycling dynasty, Lampkin was raised in

Silsden Silsden is a town and civil parish in the City of Bradford in West Yorkshire, England, on the River Aire and Leeds and Liverpool Canal between Keighley and Skipton, which had a population of 8,390 at the 2021 Census. The parish includes the ham ...

, where he began riding motorcycles at an early age. His older brothers

Arthur Arthur is a masculine given name of uncertain etymology. Its popularity derives from it being the name of the legendary hero King Arthur. A common spelling variant used in many Slavic, Romance, and Germanic languages is Artur. In Spanish and Ital ...

and Alan Lampkin were successful motorcycle racers and became members of the BSA factory racing team in the 1960s. In the early 1970s, Lampkin established himself as one of the top competitors in motorcycle trials, gaining the attention of Francisco Bultó, the owner of the

Bultaco Bultaco was a Spanish manufacturer of two-stroke motorcycles from 1958 to 1983. In May 2014, a new Bultaco was announced. Origins The origin of the Bultaco motorcycle company dates from May 1958. Francesc Xavier Bultó, Francesc "Paco" Bultó ...

motorcycle company. Bultó offered him a job as a member of the Bultaco factory trials team and, in 1973 he won the European trials championship as well as the British trials national championship. The European championship was considered to be the world championship at the time, as the sport of trials had yet to develop outside of Europe. In 1975, the European championship was upgraded to world championship status and Lampkin claimed the title to become the first-ever trials world champion. He continued to experience success in the world championships until 1980, when the Bultaco factory began to experience financial troubles. Lampkin then joined the SWM factory team until he retired from professional competition in 1982. Besides his European and World Championship titles, Lampkin was also a four-time winner of the

Scott Trial The Scott Trial is a British motorcycle trials competition dating from 1914 run over an off-road course of approximately . One of the most challenging trials events in the UK, its appeal is to clubman riders as well as international professional ...

(1977, 1978, 1981, 1982), a three-time winner of the British trials national championship (1973, 1978, 1980) and won the grueling Scottish Six Days Trial three consecutive times (1976, 1977, 1978). Lampkin is the father of twelve-time trials world champion, Dougie Lampkin. After retiring from competition, Lampkin supported his son as he embarked on a successful professional motorcycle trials career.

References

1950 births 2016 deaths People from Silsden Sportspeople from the City of Bradford English motorcycle racers Motorcycle trials riders 20th-century English sportsmen {{England-motorcycle-racing-bio-stub