Jonny be good
By TMX Archives on 11th Mar 15
Red Bull KTMs Jonny Walker finally earned the win at the Michelin Tough One 2015, leading the race from start to finish. Following two years as a runner-up the Cumbrian put on a dominant display of riding to secure his second major extreme enduro win of the year.
It was a great day of racing at the spiritual home of the Tough One – Nantmawr Quarry in Shropshire.
Britain's longest-running extreme enduro event returned to the famous quarry with riders and spectators alike rewarded with sunshine and warm temperatures throughout the day.
Following similar tracks and routes to previous years, the WOR crew meticulously prepared an 11-minute loop around the quarry.
There were lots of natural extreme sections as well as artificial logs and gnarly rock crossings. Spectators inside the quarry could see a great portion of each lap, following riders' as they passed in and out in several places.
Those choosing to walk up the hill and into the forest came across one of the latest additions to the track, a 60-foot wall with stones, followed by a seriously steep downhill into the muddy woods.
At the start of the Pro race Jonny Walker ran to his KTM like a man on a mission, leaving everyone behind on the Le Mans style run.
A few steps behind him Austrian Lars Enockl clashed with Ben Hemingway, resulting in the two of them, along with Alfredo Gomez, falling to the ground.
In a matter of seconds Jonny Walker jumped on his bike and disappeared up the narrow track ahead of him. Graham Jarvis followed in Walker's steps with the rest of the pack squeezing behind them.
Right there, Hell's Gate podium finisher Mario Roman made a silly mistake by getting off the track and climbing a small wall among spectators to get on his own way to the track. The incident was caught in video, leading to Roman's disqualification.
Showing incredible form on the technically challenging terrain, Walker reached the finish of lap one almost two minutes in front.
It was a convincing lead that the KTM rider retained to the finish. "It was good today. I can't really complain” Walker said after the race.
FOR FULL REPORT AND PICTURES SEE TMX NEWS, March 12, 2015 (ISSUE 1962)
