Jarvis just gr-eight

It was a case of another year, another extreme enduro win for Flite Husaberg teamster, Graham Jarvis, at the eighth running of the the Tough One Extreme Enduro, as the experienced trials turned enduro star continued his dominance of the extreme enduro scene.

 

Favourite for the win following his season-long domination of just about all extreme events in 2011, ‘Grimbo' needed less than half-a-lap to take to the front of the two-and-a-half hour Pro race, before opening up a commanding lead that was never headed.

 

With a 3.15pm start, riders had just over an hour of daylight before visibility started to reduce. 

 

Making the most of the daylight was the priority for all riders, but for those that didn't get away from the start near the front of the pack it proved to be a 

gruelling race.

 

Alex Wigg was the first to run the 200-metre uphill track that led competitors to their bikes, where he fired his Gasser into life and headed off into an early lead. But it didn't last!

 

Jarvis was in the lead at the end of the opening lap and with a clear course ahead of him, he wasted no time in opening up a commanding advantage.

 

"Running uphill to your bike is always hard but I think I was the third rider to swing a leg over their bike, and myengine fired up almost straight away, so I was well placed,” explained Jarvis. 

 

"About half-way around the first lap I moved into the lead, passing the two riders that were ahead of me on a faster section of the track. You can never underestimate how tough an event like this can be. One small fall can damage your bike and put you out of the running. 

 

"I was confident of a good result but I didn't know how things would go. Getting a good start really made things easier.”

 

Behind Jarvis, Danny McCanney 

initially held the runner-up spot, but was one of the first big-name casualties to exit the event as he holed his clutch cover and was forced to retire.

 

Returning to the Tough One having reduced his competitive outings in 

recent years, Wayne Braybrook's hopes of yet another T1 podium took a turn for the worse as falls early on hampered his progress. "I didn't get a good start and early on I knocked one of my lights off,” explained Wayne.

 

"That meant I had to stop to fix it. Then I had a few small crashes, nothing big, but it put me back a bit. 

 

"I knew that it was going to be a tough two-and-and-a-half hours so I just tried to keep it neat. I knew I was back in fourth or fifth but I expected some of the younger lads ahead of me would make some mistakes.”

 

Helping Wayne move up the results sheet was the fact that Paul Bolton punched a hole in his clutch cover and, like McCanney, was forced out of the race.

 

Ben Hemmingway, having passed brother Dan, held the runner-up position for much of the event and looked well placed to claim a podium result. 

 

Managing to remain mistake-free during the first half of the race, an error soon after his pit stop saw him endure a disastrous lap, during which time he was passed by Braybrook.

 

"I had a pretty steady race really, which was what I was hoping for,” admitted Ben. 

 

"You can never go all guns blazing at the Tough One, so I just tried to keep things as neat as possible. 

 

"The first half of the race went well, my pit stop was good, but then I got stuck on one of the hills, which is where Wayne went past me.

 

"I followed him for a while but I made so many mistakes then – I fell off on just about every hill and had to settle myself down and work my way towards the finish.”

 

Out front Jarvis didn't put a foot wrong. Finding the night riding harder than expected, he kept pushing hard and eventually claimed the chequered flag one full lap ahead of his nearest challenger. 

 

"Getting to the front quickly really made things easier for me,” explained Graham. 

 

FOR FULL REPORT AND PICTURES SEE T+MX JANUARY 20

 

2012 Tough One Extreme Enduro

Nantmawr Quarry, nr Oswestry (WOR Events)

PRO CLASS: 1 Graham Jarvis (Husaberg) 14 laps - 2:28:11 total time, 2 Wayne Braybrook (Sherco) 13 - 2:35:12, 3 Ben Hemmingway (KTM) 13 - 2:41:43, 4 Dan Hemmingway (KTM) 12 - 2:30:02, 5 Melcior Faja (E - KTM) 11 - 2:29:44, 6 Alexz Wigg (Gas Gas) 11 - 2:32:35, 7 Lars Enockl (A - KTM) 11 - 2:36:52, 8 Jesus Zavala (MEX - KTM) 9 - 2:42:38, 9 Joao Riberio (P - AJP) 8 - 2:32:23, 10 Carsten Stranghoner (D - Gas Gas) 8 - 2:40:57, 11 Gary Daniels (KTM) 4 - 0:50:15, 12 Paul Bolton (KTM) 3 - 0:33:48, 13 Danny McCanney (Gas Gas) 2 - 0:21:35.

EXPERT CLASS: 1 Jack Lee (Gas Gas) 11 - 2:30:51, 2 Mark Jackson (KTM) 11 - 2:38:18, 3 Gary Jenkins (KTM) 10 - 2:28:16, 4 Scott Austin (KTM) 10 - 2:34:54, 5 Luke Copestake (KTM) 10 - 2:42:54, 6 Aled Price (KTM) 9 - 2:30:42, 7 Tom Healey (KTM) 9 - 2:31:14, 8 Oliver Hart (KTM) 9 - 2:32:15, 9 Alex Owen (KTM) 9 - 2:34:45, 10 Grant Hacking (KTM) 8 - 2:33:40, 11 Luke Flack (KTM) 7 - 2:43:53, 12 Tyson Maytom-Jones (Husaberg) 6 - 1:34:15, 13 Tom Smith (Kawasaki) 6 - 2:32:00, 14 Enrico Garavelli (I - Yamaha) 6 - 2:36:02, 15 Danny Morse (???) 5 - 2:29:27.

CLUBMAN CLASS: 1 David Dudley (KTM) 10 - 2:13:16, 2 Jane Daniels (KTM) 9 - 2:07:10, 3 Chris Garlick (KTM) 9 - 2:08:39, 4 Gareth Berezensky (Gas Gas) 9 - 2:11:16, 5 Danny Thomas (KTM) 9 - 2:11:58, 6 Liston Bell (KTM) 9 - 2:12:16, 7 Ade Deeley (KTM) 8 - 1:50:49, 8 Lee Sealey (KTM) 8 - 2:02:05, 9 Harry Eccles (KTM) 8 - 2:09:12, 10 Paul Kalafusz (Suzuki) 8 - 2:13:26, 11 Steve Tomlin (KTM) 7 - 2:02:42, 12 Jamie Reid (Husqvarna) 7 - 2:04:28, 13 Luke Stringer (???) 7 - 2:05:44, 14 Luke Thomas (KTM) 7 - 2:07:20, 15 Darren Skillin (KTM) 7 - 2:12:36.

VETERAN CLASS: 1 Kiaran Hankin (Sherco) 10 - 2:00:43, 2 Craig Parkes (KTM) 10 - 2:01:56, 3 Jason Crossland (Gas Gas) 10 - 2:11:49, 4 Gary Benniman (KTM) 9 - 2:06:28, 5 Mark Crellin (Husqvarna) 9 - 2:08:37, 6 Scott Stephenson (KTM) 9 - 2:11:17, 7 Martin Atherton (KTM) 8 - 2:05:53, 8 Jon Stubbs (Gas Gas) 8 - 2:06:45, 9 Ian Coburn (KTM) 6 - 1:27:14, 10 Dean Johnson (KTM) 6 - 2:06:25, 11 Andrew Keyte (KTM) 6 - 2:09:10, 12 Craig Attwell (KTM) 5 - 2:01:41, 13 John Whittle (KTM) 4 - 2:03:20.