Nice One...
By TMX Archives on 18th Nov 10
The Tough One's Little Brother has grown up over the last couple of years and for 2010 the event moved to the vacated home of the Tough One Nantmawr Quarry, near Oswestry to prove itself in the world of Extreme Enduro which it did in style!
Over 130 riders rolled out to test themselves against the UK's toughest venue. Graham Jarvis rode his Flite Husaberg to the start line, his first outing in anger since his debut win in Portugal a few weeks ago, ready to let the watching crowds see just what he can do on his new mount.
It didn't take long for this understated, yet undoubtedly talented, star to take the lead and proceed to lap every rider in the race apart from second-placed friend and rival, Paul Bolton.
As always, the quarry fell silent for two minutes at 11am as a mark of respect on Remembrance Sunday but at 11.03am the Pro class bikes burst into life and charged off the line.
Just to remind riders that this was an ‘Extreme' event, the start line led to a small but steep jump, which hid a large pool of water. An unlucky few were soaked from the start as Rowland Morris lead the charge around a tight left then right-hander leading to a steep and slippery climb.
As the Pro class cleared the first obstacles, the Experts joined the fray and Kieron Jones from the Isle of Man became the only rider to blast full-on at the first jump and leaped spectacularly across the water-splash, landing mid-way, much to the delight of the crowd as the other competitors carefully picked their way through.
A couple of Experts got stuck on the steep climb and the following pack of Clubman riders created a log jam, which the Sportsman riders then joined and it took a while to clear. However, Jarvis, now firmly in control of the race picked his way through the crowd of strugglers and continued to charge around the course.
The lap was somewhat longer than the usual ‘Tough One' course, running for around ten-minutes across the fields and small quarry atop the main Nantmawr setting. Although the day was dry the ground outside the quarry was wet and a slight ground frost made conditions tricky, especially with so many fallen leaves adding to the lack of grip in places. However for most spectators the main arena was the focus of their interest and as the race progressed the Tough Ones Little Brother proved it had finally come of age.
The tyre section was included for those riders talented or brave enough to try it, but for the lesser mortals the option to sidestep the obstacle incurred a 30-second penalty, which many riders gladly accepted.
On the approach to the tyre hazard from the top of the quarry there was another choice to be made, a steep drop straight down to the tyre section or a long and twisty chicken run, which added around 45 seconds onto each lap.
FOR FULL REPORT AND PICTURES SEE T+MX NOVEMBER 19
TOUGH ONE'S LITTLE BROTHER Extreme Enduro
Nantmawr Quarry,
nr Oswestry (WOR Events)
PRO: 1 Graham Jarvis (300 Flite Husaberg) 12 laps- 0:00 time penalties, 2 Paul Bolton (KTM) 12 - 9:44, 3 Nick Life (???) 11 - 2:32, 4 Harry Hillas (250 KTM) 11 - 4:48, 5 Rowland Morris (250 Gas Gas) 11 - 10:26, 6 Andy Cripps (250 Kawasaki) 11 - 11:13.
EXPERT: 1 Owain Humphreys (KTM) 11 - 6:25, 2 Gary Jenkins (300 KTM) 11 - 8:59, 3 Biff Smith (Sandiford Gas Gas) 11 - 9:39, 4 Joe Wootton (250F Kawasaki) 11 - 15:44, 5 Richard Tucker (250 KTM) 10 - 0:32, 6 Andrew Hackett (KTM) 10 - 2:20.
CLUBMAN: 1 Thomas Bell (250 KTM) 10 - 7:09, 2 James Dent (250 KTM) 10 - 13:06, 3 John Pearson (???) 10 - 14:54, 4 David Dudley (200 KTM) 9 - 5:13, 5 Nathan Bolton (KTM) 9 - 10:19, 6 Richard Milton (250 Gas Gas) 9 - 12:04.
VETERAN: 1 Craig Parkes (250 KTM) 10 - 12:16, 2 Colin Blunt (250 KTM) 9 - 0:00, 3 Gary McCoy (300 KTM) 9 - 2:58, 4 Ian Jones (280 KTM) 9 - 3:43, 5 Hywel Edwards (250 KTM) 9 - 12:31, 6 Dave Cooper (???) 8 - 1:03.
SPORTSMAN: 1 George Stanley (150 KTM) 8 - 20:14, 2 Michael Windsor (250 Suzuki) 7 - 3:49, 3 Gav Beech (125 TM) 7 - 8:17, 4 Paul Marsden (KTM) 7 - 12:15, 5 Mark Mathison (250 Suzuki) 7 - 15:07, 6 Roger Holland (250 KTM) 7 - 19:02.
YOUTH: 1 Lee Sealey (125 KTM) 7 - 19:59, 2 Jack Ditchfield (150 KTM) 7 - 22:33, 3 Richard Newbrook (250F KTM) 6 - 33:21, 4 Jordan Berry (250 Honda) 5 - 26:36, 5 Ryan Phillips (85 KTM) 3 - 11:37.
LADIES: 1 Emily Davey (300 KTM) 4 - 27:00.