Tough times ahead
By TMX Archives on 4th Mar 15
Enduro fighters are all ready to go to WOR
WOR's head honcho Steve Ireland isn't a man to mince words so back in the mists of time – okay, 11 years ago if we're being precise – when he decided to organise a hard enduro he called it simply ‘The Tough One'.
Over the years the format and venue of the event has undergone a number of changes but one thing has remained constant. It's very, very bloody tough.
After last year's move to Hawkstone Park the Michelin Tough One Hard Enduro is back at its spiritual home, the menacing Nantmawr Quarry in Shropshire, on Saturday (March 7) where the WOR crew are planning the ultimate test for man and machine.
With a stacked Pro field the result is too close to call in advance but expect Red Bull KTM's Jonny Walker to be up at the sharp end.
The Cumbrian, fresh from his win at Hell's Gate, will need to be on top of his game if he's to take his first T1 win and defeat double winner Graham Jarvis on the Bel-Ray Husqvarna.
Last year's Tough One was possibly a bit on the fast side for Jarvis but with the return to Nantmawr he'll be able to use his silky-smooth trials skills on the super-technical course.
Other riders who should figure include Andreas Lettenbichler and Alfredo Gomez, last year's Roof of Africa winner Wade Young and Mario Roman and Lars Enockl who finished second and third behind Walker in last month's Hell's Gate.
Drop into the mix brothers Ben and Dan Hemingway and 24 other top
homegrown and foreign stars and it's shaping up to be the best T1 yet.
For 2015 there will be three races spread across the day kicking off with the Over 40s and Sportsman classes who will run to their bikes at 9am for the two-hour race.
Next up comes the Clubman riders at noon before the Main Event gets under way at 3.30pm with the Pros having a Le Mans-style start to their two-and-a-half hour race.
This year's course will be made up of lots of natural and gnarly terrain. Gone is the lorry to jump out of, the hanging dummies and the swinging tyres but there will be plenty of bike-swallowing gullies, rocks and the return of the huge log pyramid.
The fearsome ‘Root of All Evil' will test even the top riders and there's going to be a big tyre carpets to cross, a brand-new sprint section of twists and turns built in the quarry, some big climbs and massive descents, the stood-up tyre section, a skip of rocks and logs, plenty of grass special test type terrain, the Boulder Dash every lap and a freshly dug water pit.
Basically, it's going to be non-stop action from start to finish.
The Main Event is once again part of the prestigious Red Bull Hard Enduro tour and with big money and those all-important bragging rights on the line it's a battle that will go down to the wire.
While Steve Ireland's sadistic streak is legendary he must be going soft as he clocks up the years as the Main Event won't now finish in the dark for the final hour as previously planned.
The last 10 minutes of the race will, however, take place as dusk falls to add a torturous testing twist to the torment.
To add extra spice to an already potent cocktail, Andy Cripps will be given a headstart on his trials bike.
If Crippsy can keep ahead of the field for an hour he'll get a cash prize and with a £1,000 carrot dangling in front of him he's guaranteed to be hanging it out.
Admission is £20 for adults and £10 for under 12s. All pre-booked parking spaces in the quarry have gone and only people arriving on a road legal motorcycle will be allowed access at a cost of £15 per person.
A free park and ride system – running from 8am until 7.30pm – will be in operation from Oswestry Cattle Auction, around five miles from Nantmawr. Postcode is SY11 4QA.
