The Brits raise Hell
By TMX Archives on 11th Feb 10
BRITS Dougie Lampkin and Graham Jarvis dominated the sixth running of the Hell's Gate extreme enduro in Italy finishing as the only two riders to complete the arduous event. While it was Graham that led for most of the race, a small mistake at the base of the final hill saw Lampkin seize his chance, move into the lead, and go on to give Beta their first major enduro victory in five years. With pre-race favourite Taddy Blazusiak crashing out on the first lap, a new for 2010 section of track proved too difficult for most riders and caused many to retire from the race having not even completed one lap
The sixth running of the Hell's Gate extreme enduro proved to be simply too tough for most competitors this year, causing many to ask "What the hell were the organisers thinking?”
With the traditional morning qualifying en-duro tougher than ever, due largely to heavy rain during the days prior to the start, a large number of the 103 starters failed to go the distance with those that did finish left feeling more than a little tired and weary.
But it was the main Hell's Gate race that was the big disappointment for most, including many of the world's best extreme riders that had gathered to compete in Italy. Becoming an almost non-event soon after the start a brand new hill proved simply too difficult for any rider to negotiate unaided, which resulted in competitors having to wait at the bottom to be dragged to the top one at a time.
HELLS GATE EXTREME ENDURO
Il Ciocco, ITALY
HELLS PEAK (Main Event): 1 Dougie LAMPKIN (GB - Beta), 2 Jarvis GRAHAM (GB - Sherco). (No other finishers).
POSITIONS AFTER QUALIFING PHASE (3 Races, including penalties): 1 Taddy Blazusiak (KTM) 34:02.70, 2 Graham JARVIS (GB - Sherco) 34:30.22, 3 Andreas Lettenbichler (BMW) 34:41.15, 4 Dougie LAMPKIN (GB - Beta) 36:20.43, 5 Cory Graffunder (Husqvarna) 36:41.29, 6 Xavi Galindo (Husaberg) 36:49.26, 7 Mikael Vukcevik (Sherco) 37:43.43, 8 Chris Birch (KTM) 38:11.94, 9 Daniele Maurino (Gas Gas) 39:48.22, 10 Daniel Gibert (Yamaha) 40:06.05.
FOR FULL REPORT AND PICTURES SEE T+MX NEWS, FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2010
Harry Hillas gets a helping hand over a rutted section on a course that contained one climb which proved impossible for everyone.