The Lightweight MCC www.lightweightclub.co.uk has a long and proud history, beginning with a few keen trial riders such as the Legendary Sammy Miller who helped bring the sport to prominence in Northern Ireland. It has always enjoyed a large and enthusiastic membership who have brought the Club to the top of Observed Trials in Northern Ireland and beyond. With the Lightweight hosting many British and Irish Championship Rounds across the province, we gained a reputation for setting challenging and exciting trials which catered for all levels of riders from the Youth Riders right through to the Expert and Championship Riders.
When the Lightweight in association with North Down Borough Council hosting the first World Championship Event in 2003, it brought a deeper and much wider exposure of the Sport to our shores. Such was the success of the FIM World Trial in 2003 that Indoor World Championship Trials were to follow, and again the Lightweight helped organise another World Outdoor Championship in 2004. The 2004 trial was once again hailed as a tremendous success and went so far as to win the Best Event of 2004 from the Northern Ireland Tourist Board, where it was estimated 25,000 spectators turned up and over £1Million of business was generated for the area.
With all this history under our belt the Lightweight are confident once again that the SPEA FIM 2008 World Trial Bangor Northern Ireland will be an overwhelming success. With riders such as the current World Trial Championship Toni Bou, Dougie Lampkin, Adam Raga and many more coming to the North Down Coast it is sure to be a hotly contested Second Round. And with Dougie Lampkin sitting on 99 World Trials Round wins under his belt, he is eager to reach the amazing figure of 100 at what he considers his home trial in Bangor. Considering he won the event on the previous 2 occasions in 2003 and 2004, and the overwhelming support he receives from all the locals and spectators in Bangor, it might just happen.
As Billy Rodgers, Clerk of the Course, and life long Lightweight MCC member says "He has won an amazing 99 world trials rounds throughout the globe and obviously it would be a feather in our cap if he made it 100 at the Lightweight club meeting.
"Before then however Dougie has to negotiate the first round of the series which will be in Luxembourg and after that if he still hasn't won then it will be up to the North Down coast to provide him with that special day."
Please find below some video of the FIM World Trial held in 2003 at Bangor Northern Ireland. All videos courtesy of TrialsWorld.com. Film courtesy of TrialsWorld.com, filmed by Aaron Ferris Edited by Daryl Ferris.
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For more information on the Lightweight Motor Cycle Club or Trials in Northern Ireland, please visit www.lightweightclub.co.uk.
