Graham Jarvis battles to Tough One victory
By Team TMX on 21st Feb 16
Graham Jarvis has claimed his first win of the year following a determined performance at the 12th and final running of The Tough One Extreme Enduro in England.
Finishing on the top step of the podium alongside David Knight and Paul Bolton, Jarvis battled with multiple Tough One winner Knight for much of the two-and-a-half hour race, breaking away during the final 45 minutes to win by nearly two minutes.
Challenging weather conditions made the final running of the UK's premier extreme event all the more difficult. Constant rain throughout the Pro, Expert and Clubman race resulted in much of the course becoming extremely slippery.
Making a good start Graham needed little time to be challenging for the lead. First breaking into the top three, he and David Knight moved ahead of early leader Paul Bolton before becoming locked in a two-rider battle for the lead.
Initially dropping back from his rival, Graham started charging after stopping for fuel and fresh goggles and gloves.
Moving into the lead and putting on a late race charge Jarvis opened up a small but important advantage at the head of the race, going on to claim a well-earned victory.
Graham Jarvis: "I was second off the start, which is a huge improvement compared to my previous races. Some riders overtook me but the goal for the first few laps was to look for the best lines.
I had a decent fight with David Knight today. Knighter knows this place well and is always fast here. When he pitted I decided to push hard and ended up crashing. I quickly got back on my bike and decided to stay behind Knight for a few laps.
Shortly after the midway point I passed him and managed to open up a decent gap. The track was wet and muddy but to be honest it didn't really make a huge difference for me.
My strongest point was the slower and more technical sections inside the quarry, that's where my TE 300 excelled really. It's been ten year since I first raced here at Nantmawr Quarry. I'm glad I got the win, my fourth Tough One victory, at the very last edition of the event.”
Results – The Tough One 2016, Pro class
1 Graham Jarvis (Husqvarna) 14 laps 02:33:06; 2 David Knight (KTM) 14 laps 02:34:59; 3. Paul Bolton (KTM) 14 laps 02:40:48; 4 Wade Young (Sherco) 14 laps 02:42:09; 5 Jonathan Richardson (KTM) 13 laps 02:39:16; 6 Billy Bolt (KTM) 13 laps 02:45:24; 7 Owain Humphreys (Husqvarna) 12 laps 02:34:12; 8 Gethin Humphreys (Husqvarna) 12 laps 02:34:13; 9 Wayne Braybrook (Husqvarna) 12 laps 02:35:22; 10 Ben Hemingway (Beta) 02:37:00...
