It’s a Walk-over for Jonny
By TMX Archives on 8th Jul 15
Jonny Walker nailed yet another win to add to his string of recent victories with a stunning display of riding at the rock-strewn moorland and quarry venue which in the past has generally been wet or very wet.
Bone dry with thousands of tons of rock and loose shale, Paul Edmondson's thoughtfully laid-out course was tough, dusty and easily observed by spectators from a single vantage point.
This didn't stop hundreds of them walking around the course and climbing to its highest points for very close-up views of the world's top-two extreme enduro riders doing battle.
As the start flag dropped Graham Jarvis was fast off the line at the start of the two-hour afternoon race with Walker snapping at his heels, so closely that the two bikes became one by the third turn and Walker gracefully stepped away as his bike hit the deck.
He was back on it within seconds and closed on Jarvis, the pair battling for the first half-lap until Walker made his move down a rocky but dry streambed, approaching the first tough rock garden.
Safely through the rocks and big step-ups it was time to hit the hills hard.
The longest climb saw the pair just yards apart as they hit the crest, turned left for a few yards then plummeted back down, only to repeat the process a few hundred yards later. The course wended its way into the main bowl of the quarry where both riders chose the short but very tough route out of a deep ravine to exit back on level ground, through another maze of big rocks and around the super motard course, strewn with pipes, logs and rocks to complete the lap.
Yard by yard Walker pulled clear but Jarvis matched him lap for lap as the pair lapped the whole field – twice. With over five minutes in hand, Walker pitted for fuel, fresh goggles and a change of Go Pro for the final stint to the flag and another victory to his credit.
Jarvis rode magnificently, he didn't put a foot wrong and only once failed to make one of the climbs on the first attempt – but he just couldn't match Walker for speed.
He finished in a solid second, two laps up on Beta rider Dan Hemmingway, who is no slouch at this game, showing the pace of both front-runners.
Keelan Hancock pushed hard to take the Expert class win in the dying laps, putting 37-seconds between himself and Chris Windle, who had ridden extremely well for the whole race. Keelan's brother Ross took third in class.
FOR FULL REPORT AND PICS SEE TMX NEWS, THURSDAY JULY 9, (ISSUE 1979)
