Mick Andrews
Mick Andrews, is an English former international motorcycle trials rider. He was FIM European Trials Champion in 1971 and 1972 and is a five times winner of the Scottish Six Days Trial, taking the laurels in 1970, 1971, 1972, 1974 and 1975, equalling the record set by Sammy Miller. Born in Elton, Andrews began competing in trials events during 1959 at the age of 15 riding a 197cc James before moving up to a Matchless 350 the following year. In 1961 Andrews' talent was spotted by AMC Competition Manager and former three time Scottish Six Day winner Hugh Viney, who offered him a factory-sponsored AJS ride, he competed on the AJS models until 1965 when the AMC company purchased the James and Francis-Barnett companies, switching their works riders to the more competitive 250cc James machines. After AMC went out of business in 1966, Andrews picked up a ride with the Rickman brothers before gaining a factory-backed ride with the Ossa factory in 1967, he was to spend six years with Ossa, during which time Andrews won the Scottish Six Days Trial three years in a row and won the European Trials Championship twice, all on a bike designed and developed by himself.
The Ossa MAR is a well known machine used in vintage competition the world over. In 1973 he signed to develop a bike for Yamaha; the bike was the TY250 and Andrews went on to add two more Scottish Six Days wins to his tally with victory in 1974 and 1975. During this time, he designed the TY80 and TY175 models on which so many top riders had their first taste of trials riding. Andrews competed in the FIM Trial World Championship until 1980, still rides in select events including the occasional visit the AHRMA Vintage days in the United States. FIM European Trials Champion 1971, 1972 Scottish Six Day Trial Winner 1970, 1971, 1972, 1974, 1975 www. MickAndrews.net
Finland
Finland the Republic of Finland, is a country in Northern Europe bordering the Baltic Sea, Gulf of Bothnia, Gulf of Finland, between Norway to the north, Sweden to the northwest, Russia to the east. Finland is situated in the geographical region of Fennoscandia; the capital and largest city is Helsinki. Other major cities are Espoo, Tampere and Turku. Finland's population is 5.52 million, the majority of the population is concentrated in the southern region. 88.7% of the population is Finnish and speaks Finnish, a Uralic language unrelated to the Scandinavian languages. Finland is the eighth-largest country in Europe and the most sparsely populated country in the European Union; the sovereign state is a parliamentary republic with a central government based in the capital city of Helsinki, local governments in 311 municipalities, one autonomous region, the Åland Islands. Over 1.4 million people live in the Greater Helsinki metropolitan area, which produces one third of the country's GDP. Finland was inhabited when the last ice age ended 9000 BCE.
The first settlers left behind artefacts that present characteristics shared with those found in Estonia and Norway. The earliest people were hunter-gatherers; the first pottery appeared in 5200 BCE. The arrival of the Corded Ware culture in southern coastal Finland between 3000 and 2500 BCE may have coincided with the start of agriculture; the Bronze Age and Iron Age were characterised by extensive contacts with other cultures in the Fennoscandian and Baltic regions and the sedentary farming inhabitation increased towards the end of Iron Age. At the time Finland had three main cultural areas – Southwest Finland and Karelia – as reflected in contemporary jewellery. From the late 13th century, Finland became an integral part of Sweden through the Northern Crusades and the Swedish part-colonisation of coastal Finland, a legacy reflected in the prevalence of the Swedish language and its official status. In 1809, Finland was incorporated into the Russian Empire as the autonomous Grand Duchy of Finland.
In 1906, Finland became the first European state to grant all adult citizens the right to vote, the first in the world to give all adult citizens the right to run for public office. Following the 1917 Russian Revolution, Finland declared itself independent. In 1918, the fledgling state was divided by civil war, with the Bolshevik-leaning Red Guard supported by the new Soviet Russia, fighting the White Guard, supported by the German Empire. After a brief attempt to establish a kingdom, the country became a republic. During World War II, the Soviet Union sought to occupy Finland, with Finland losing parts of Karelia, Kuusamo and some islands, but retaining their independence. Finland established an official policy of neutrality; the Finno-Soviet Treaty of 1948 gave the Soviet Union some leverage in Finnish domestic politics during the Cold War era. Finland joined the OECD in 1969, the NATO Partnership for Peace in 1994, the European Union in 1995, the Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council in 1997, the Eurozone at its inception, in 1999.
Finland was a relative latecomer to industrialisation, remaining a agrarian country until the 1950s. After World War II, the Soviet Union demanded war reparations from Finland not only in money but in material, such as ships and machinery; this forced Finland to industrialise. It developed an advanced economy while building an extensive welfare state based on the Nordic model, resulting in widespread prosperity and one of the highest per capita incomes in the world. Finland is a top performer in numerous metrics of national performance, including education, economic competitiveness, civil liberties, quality of life, human development. In 2015, Finland was ranked first in the World Human Capital and the Press Freedom Index and as the most stable country in the world during 2011–2016 in the Fragile States Index, second in the Global Gender Gap Report, it ranked first on the World Happiness Report report for 2018 and 2019. A large majority of Finns are members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church, freedom of religion is guaranteed under the Finnish Constitution.
The earliest written appearance of the name Finland is thought to be on three runestones. Two have the inscription finlonti; the third was found in Gotland. It dates back to the 13th century; the name can be assumed to be related to the tribe name Finns, mentioned at first known time AD 98. The name Suomi has uncertain origins, but a candidate for a source is the Proto-Baltic word *źemē, meaning "land". In addition to the close relatives of Finnish, this name is used in the Baltic languages Latvian and Lithuanian. Alternatively, the Indo-European word * gʰm-on "man" has been suggested; the word referred only to the province of Finland Proper, to the northern coast of Gulf of Finland, with northern regions such as Ostrobothnia still sometimes being excluded until later. Earlier theories suggested derivation from suomaa or suoniemi, but these are now considered outdated; some have suggested common etymology with saame and Häme, but that theory is uncertain
Sweden
Sweden the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Scandinavian Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north and Finland to the east, is connected to Denmark in the southwest by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund, a strait at the Swedish-Danish border. At 450,295 square kilometres, Sweden is the largest country in Northern Europe, the third-largest country in the European Union and the fifth largest country in Europe by area. Sweden has a total population of 10.2 million. It has a low population density of 22 inhabitants per square kilometre; the highest concentration is in the southern half of the country. Germanic peoples have inhabited Sweden since prehistoric times, emerging into history as the Geats and Swedes and constituting the sea peoples known as the Norsemen. Southern Sweden is predominantly agricultural, while the north is forested. Sweden is part of the geographical area of Fennoscandia; the climate is in general mild for its northerly latitude due to significant maritime influence, that in spite of this still retains warm continental summers.
Today, the sovereign state of Sweden is a constitutional monarchy and parliamentary democracy, with a monarch as head of state, like its neighbour Norway. The capital city is Stockholm, the most populous city in the country. Legislative power is vested in the 349-member unicameral Riksdag. Executive power is exercised by the government chaired by the prime minister. Sweden is a unitary state divided into 21 counties and 290 municipalities. An independent Swedish state emerged during the early 12th century. After the Black Death in the middle of the 14th century killed about a third of the Scandinavian population, the Hanseatic League threatened Scandinavia's culture and languages; this led to the forming of the Scandinavian Kalmar Union in 1397, which Sweden left in 1523. When Sweden became involved in the Thirty Years War on the Reformist side, an expansion of its territories began and the Swedish Empire was formed; this became one of the great powers of Europe until the early 18th century. Swedish territories outside the Scandinavian Peninsula were lost during the 18th and 19th centuries, ending with the annexation of present-day Finland by Russia in 1809.
The last war in which Sweden was directly involved was in 1814, when Norway was militarily forced into personal union. Since Sweden has been at peace, maintaining an official policy of neutrality in foreign affairs; the union with Norway was peacefully dissolved in 1905. Sweden was formally neutral through both world wars and the Cold War, albeit Sweden has since 2009 moved towards cooperation with NATO. After the end of the Cold War, Sweden joined the European Union on 1 January 1995, but declined NATO membership, as well as Eurozone membership following a referendum, it is a member of the United Nations, the Nordic Council, the Council of Europe, the World Trade Organization and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Sweden maintains a Nordic social welfare system that provides universal health care and tertiary education for its citizens, it has the world's eleventh-highest per capita income and ranks in numerous metrics of national performance, including quality of life, education, protection of civil liberties, economic competitiveness, equality and human development.
The name Sweden was loaned from Dutch in the 17th century to refer to Sweden as an emerging great power. Before Sweden's imperial expansion, Early Modern English used Swedeland. Sweden is derived through back-formation from Old English Swēoþēod, which meant "people of the Swedes"; this word is derived from Sweon/Sweonas. The Swedish name Sverige means "realm of the Swedes", excluding the Geats in Götaland. Variations of the name Sweden are used in most languages, with the exception of Danish and Norwegian using Sverige, Faroese Svøríki, Icelandic Svíþjóð, the more notable exception of some Finnic languages where Ruotsi and Rootsi are used, names considered as referring to the people from the coastal areas of Roslagen, who were known as the Rus', through them etymologically related to the English name for Russia; the etymology of Swedes, thus Sweden, is not agreed upon but may derive from Proto-Germanic Swihoniz meaning "one's own", referring to one's own Germanic tribe. Sweden's prehistory begins in the Allerød oscillation, a warm period around 12,000 BC, with Late Palaeolithic reindeer-hunting camps of the Bromme culture at the edge of the ice in what is now the country's southernmost province, Scania.
This period was characterised by small bands of hunter-gatherer-fishers using flint technology. Sweden is first described in a written source in Germania by Tacitus in 98 AD. In Germania 44 and 45 he mentions the Swedes as a powerful tribe with ships that had a prow at each end. Which kings ruled these Suiones is unknown, but Norse mythology presents a long line of legendary and semi-legendary kings going back to the last centuries BC; as for literacy in Sweden itself, the runic script was in use among the south Scandinavian elite by at least the 2nd century AD, but all that has come down to the present from the Roman Period is curt inscriptions on artefacts of male names, demonstrating th
Motorcycle trials
Motorcycle trials known as observed 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. Modern trials motorcycles are distinctive in that they have evolved to become lightweight, lack seating and have suspension travel, short, relative to a motocross or enduro motorcycle. Motorcycle trials is utilized by competitors in other motorcycle sports as a way to cross-train, as trials requires fine throttle and machine control; the event is split into sections where a competitor rides through an obstacle course while attempting to avoid touching the ground with the feet. The obstacles in the course may be of natural or constructed elements. In all sections, regardless of content, the designated route is contrived to test the skill of the rider. In many local observed trials events, the sections are divided into separate courses to accommodate the different skill level of riders, who compete in skill-rated classes.
In every section, the competitor is scored by an observer who counts how many times the competitor touches the ground with the foot. Each time a competitor touches the ground with a foot, the penalty is one point; the possible scores in each section consist of 0, 1, 2, 3, or 5. If a competitor makes their way through the section without touching the ground with a foot, they earn a score of 0. If they touch the ground once, they receive a score of 1. If they touch down twice, they receive a score of 2. If they touch the ground three or more times, they earn a score of 3—as long as they complete the section without stalling the motor, going out of bounds, or going backward. If the competitor fails to complete the section a score of 5 is earned; the winner is the competitor with the fewest points at the end of the event. Some events are timed with penalty points assessed to late riders. There is a world indoor and outdoor championship, as well as indoor and outdoor national team "world cups". British competitor Dougie Lampkin is notable for winning seven world outdoor titles in the 1990s and 2000s, the same number that Spanish competitor Jordi Tarrés won in the 1980s and 1990s.
Previous observed trials greats include Northern Ireland's Sammy Miller, Finland's Yrjö Vesterinen and Belgium's Eddy Lejeune. The current outdoor world champion is Antoni Bou from Spain, the current indoor champion. In addition to the world championship events, there are other major events, such as the Scottish Six Days Trial and the Scott Trial. Major current manufacturers of trials bikes are Gas Gas, Sherco, Montesa Honda, Scorpa, TRS and Vertigo. In the past there have been many manufacturers, from countries such as Spain, Japan and Italy. Classic classes exist for vintage bikes. Classes include pre-1965 or pre-1967 motorcycles, as well as newer vintage events for observed trials motorcycles with two rear shock absorbers. In most cases, twin-shock motorcycles were manufactured between 1967 and 1985 and are Japanese or Spanish. A recent addition has been a class for air-cooled monoshock bikes, this covers machines up to around 1990. A competition event is called an "observed trial" or "trial", unless referred to as an "observed trials event".
A newer name for the sport, MotoTrial, is used by some organizations. However, it was dropped by the Federation Internationale de Motocyclisme as a name for its observed trials competitions. Outdoor events are called Trial; as well as the traditional solo motorcycle trials, there is a form of the sport on 3 wheels known as Sidecar Trials consisting of a driver and a passenger. The competition is run in the same way as a standard motorcycle trial with the only exception being additional ways to be given a score of 5; this involves the passenger, who will earn the competitor a 5 if any part of the passenger's body touches any terrain. The role of the passenger is to balance the sidecar and prevent the sidecar wheel from lifting which would cause the driver to restablise the outfit by using his foot. Sidecar Trials is predominantly British, however there are events run in Europe and Australia; the British Championship is the highest level of competition, held over 10 rounds with 3 difficulty levels.
Long distance trials competition incorporates a planned out route for the competitors to follow and make stops at various locations incorporating places throughout many different counties, rather than one venue. This takes place not only on the main roads but steep and loose surfaced hills and lanes. Points are given to the competitor for falling off; these trials can be expected to be completed within certain timescales and can mean not arriving at a particular section and or destination prior to an allocated time. Not only modern motorcycles take part but vintage motorcycles and cars too.. Bike trials riding Kick Start, a long running British television show List of motorcycle trials champions List of motorcycle manufacturers Outline of motorcycles and motorcycling International Motorcycling Federation - Trials Trials in the USA Although the sport is not well known in the US, there are many active clubs across the country with members holding events throughout the year. There i
Malcolm Rathmell
Malcolm Rathmell, is an English former international motorcycle trials rider. He won the Scottish Six Days Trial in 1973 and 1979, clinched the FIM Trans America Trials Championship in 1974. Rathmell is a six-time winner of the British Trials Championship between 1971 and 1981 and six-time winner of the Scott Trial between 1971 and 1980. Born in Otley, West Yorkshire, Rathmell first contested the FIM European Championship in 1970 before finishing runner up to Mick Andrews in the 1971 championship, a year in which he won the Scott Trial for the first time. Though off the podium in 1972 the championship was a repeat to the previous season, followed by a 3rd-place finish on the factory supported Bultaco for 1973. In 1974 Rathmell switched camps from Bultaco to Ossa but found himself facing legal action from Bultaco for breach of contract. Sticking with Bultaco for 1974 worked out for Rathmell as he won the FIM Trans America Trials Championship, he did however switch to Montesa for the 1975 season for the first year of the FIM Trial World Championship and added world round wins in Belgium and the United States and finish 3rd in the championship.
A Runner up position to Bultaco rider Yrjo Vestarinen in 1976 and a 3rd place in 1977 were to be Rathmell's best attempts at recapturing the title on the Montesa. For 1978 a Suzuki ride could only yield a 16th-place finish after which Rathmell rounded out his international career back with Montesa through the 1982 season. Malcolm Rathmell Sports Limited opened in the UK in 1991 as an Aprilia importer and is the sole UK distributor for Sherco Motorcycles. Trans America Champion 1974 - 6 Times British Trials Champion 6 Times Scott Trial Winner 2 Times SSDT winner FIM Trial World Championship Scott Trial Scottish Six Days Trial Malcolm Rathmell sports ltd
Dougie Lampkin
Douglas Martin "Dougie" Lampkin, MBE known as Doug, is an English professional motorcycle trials and endurocross rider. He has won seven consecutive World Outdoor Championships, he has won four World Team Championships in years 1997, 1999, 2002 and 2003, six British Adult Championships, two Spanish Adult Championships and the Scott Trial on five occasions. He was born into a family steeped in motorcycle sport, his father, Martin Lampkin, was the first FIM Trial World Championship winner in 1975, his Uncle, Arthur Lampkin, was a regular winner on the British circuit in the 1960s. Lampkin now lives on the Isle of Man. In 2001, he was awarded an MBE for services to his sport. British Trials Champion 1994, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001 Spanish Trials Champion 2001, 2003 FIM Trials European Champion 1993 FIM Trials World Champion 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003 FIM Trials Indoor World Champion 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001 Scottish Six Day Trial Winner 1994, 1995, 1996, 2008, 2009, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018 Scott Trial Winner 1994, 2006, 2007, 2013, 2017 DougieLampkin.co.uk, official website
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, sometimes referred to as Britain, is a sovereign country located off the north-western coast of the European mainland. The United Kingdom includes the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland, many smaller islands. Northern Ireland is the only part of the United Kingdom that shares a land border with another sovereign state, the Republic of Ireland. Apart from this land border, the United Kingdom is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, with the North Sea to the east, the English Channel to the south and the Celtic Sea to the south-west, giving it the 12th-longest coastline in the world; the Irish Sea lies between Great Ireland. With an area of 242,500 square kilometres, the United Kingdom is the 78th-largest sovereign state in the world, it is the 22nd-most populous country, with an estimated 66.0 million inhabitants in 2017. The UK is constitutional monarchy; the current monarch is Queen Elizabeth II, who has reigned since 1952, making her the longest-serving current head of state.
The United Kingdom's capital and largest city is London, a global city and financial centre with an urban area population of 10.3 million. Other major urban areas in the UK include Greater Manchester, the West Midlands and West Yorkshire conurbations, Greater Glasgow and the Liverpool Built-up Area; the United Kingdom consists of four constituent countries: England, Scotland and Northern Ireland. Their capitals are London, Edinburgh and Belfast, respectively. Apart from England, the countries have their own devolved governments, each with varying powers, but such power is delegated by the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which may enact laws unilaterally altering or abolishing devolution; the nearby Isle of Man, Bailiwick of Guernsey and Bailiwick of Jersey are not part of the UK, being Crown dependencies with the British Government responsible for defence and international representation. The medieval conquest and subsequent annexation of Wales by the Kingdom of England, followed by the union between England and Scotland in 1707 to form the Kingdom of Great Britain, the union in 1801 of Great Britain with the Kingdom of Ireland created the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.
Five-sixths of Ireland seceded from the UK in 1922, leaving the present formulation of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. There are fourteen British Overseas Territories, the remnants of the British Empire which, at its height in the 1920s, encompassed a quarter of the world's land mass and was the largest empire in history. British influence can be observed in the language and political systems of many of its former colonies; the United Kingdom is a developed country and has the world's fifth-largest economy by nominal GDP and ninth-largest economy by purchasing power parity. It has a high-income economy and has a high Human Development Index rating, ranking 14th in the world, it was the world's first industrialised country and the world's foremost power during the 19th and early 20th centuries. The UK remains a great power, with considerable economic, military and political influence internationally, it is sixth in military expenditure in the world. It has been a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council since its first session in 1946.
It has been a leading member state of the European Union and its predecessor, the European Economic Community, since 1973. The United Kingdom is a member of the Commonwealth of Nations, the Council of Europe, the G7, the G20, NATO, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and the World Trade Organization; the 1707 Acts of Union declared that the kingdoms of England and Scotland were "United into One Kingdom by the Name of Great Britain". The term "United Kingdom" has been used as a description for the former kingdom of Great Britain, although its official name from 1707 to 1800 was "Great Britain"; the Acts of Union 1800 united the kingdom of Great Britain and the kingdom of Ireland in 1801, forming the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. Following the partition of Ireland and the independence of the Irish Free State in 1922, which left Northern Ireland as the only part of the island of Ireland within the United Kingdom, the name was changed to the "United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland".
Although the United Kingdom is a sovereign country, Scotland and Northern Ireland are widely referred to as countries. The UK Prime Minister's website has used the phrase "countries within a country" to describe the United Kingdom; some statistical summaries, such as those for the twelve NUTS 1 regions of the United Kingdom refer to Scotland and Northern Ireland as "regions". Northern Ireland is referred to as a "province". With regard to Northern Ireland, the descriptive name used "can be controversial, with the choice revealing one's political preferences"; the term "Great Britain" conventionally refers to the island of Great Britain, or politically to England and Wales in combination. However, it is sometimes used as a loose synonym for the United Kingdom as a whole; the term "Britain" is used both as a synonym for Great Britain, as a synonym for the United Kingdom. Usage is mixed, with the BBC preferring to use Britain as shorthand only for Great Britain and the UK Government, while accepting that both terms refer to the United K
Don Smith (Greeves)
Gustav Franke(Zundapp)
Ulf Karlsson (Montesa)
Yrjo Vesterinen (Bultaco)
Bernie Schreiber (Bultaco)
Gilles Burgat (SWM)
Eddy Lejeune (Honda)
Jordi Tarrés (Beta)
Diego Bosis (Aprilia)
Kenichi Kuroyama (Beta)
