HUSQVARNA MOTORCYCLES’ GRAHAM JARVIS DELIVERS RUNNER-UP RESULT AT FIRST EXTREME ENDURO OF 2015

[totalmotorcycle]

@HUSQVARNA MOTORCYCLES’ GRAHAM JARVIS DELIVERS RUNNER-UP RESULT AT FIRST EXTREME ENDURO OF 2015

Getting his 2015 schedule of extreme enduro competition off to an early start, Bel-Ray Husqvarna’s Graham Jarvis produced a solid ride to finish second at the Alès Trêm event in the south of France.

Opting to use the event as an important shakedown prior to next month’s Hell’s Gate race in Italy, Jarvis arrived at the two-day race in France eager to get some valuable race miles under his belt.

Starting Friday’s Endurocross styled prologue in impressive form, Jarvis placed second in the Pro final, ensuring a prime gate position for the night time Super Final. But a bad start saw Jarvis pushed to the rear of the pack for the five-lap dash. Wisely opting to play it safe, he cautiously worked his way forward to qualify sixth for Saturday’s main event.

Leaving the start line over one-minute behind Jonny Walker, the Husqvarna rider pushed hard to eliminate the gap. Feeling confident on the rocky terrain, Jarvis carved his way to the front of the field and took control of the race lead on lap two of three. A brief mistake saw him slip back to second before retaking control of the race at the start of the final lap.

With everything to play for, Jarvis and Walker gapped the rest of the field as the fight to the finish intensified. Unfortunately a mistake from Jarvis as he dropped into the final quarry section of the 60-kilometre lap allowed Walker to find a way past. With no time to respond, Jarvis ended the race with the runner-up result.

Ensuring a solid outing for Husqvarna in France, Pierre Pallut claimed an impressive fourth place with Blake Gutzeit seventh.

Bel-Ray Husqvarna’s Jarvis now looks forward to Hell’s Gate in Italy on February 14th.

Graham Jarvis: “It’s been a good event but to be honest I’m a little disappointed I didn’t win. I made a mistake on the final quarry section and the victory got away from me there. Starting the main event I was a little on the back foot having qualified sixth in Friday’s prologue. I’d been getting the holeshot all day during my heat races but for the Super Final I spun my rear tyre coming out of the starting gate and was pushed to the back of the track. With only five laps to recover, and in darkness, it just wasn’t possible so I had to play it safe. For Saturday’s main event I pushed hard on the opening lap to close the gap to the leaders. It wasn’t overly difficult terrain but with three laps to ride it was quite physical. I got into the lead on lap two and felt good. It wasn’t really possible to breakaway from Jonny and for the final lap it was a case of whoever made a mistake lost the race. Unfortunately it was me. I got on the wrong line descending into the quarry and he got past. After that I just couldn’t fight back and had to settle for second. Overall I’m pleased. I’m riding well, the bike feels great and with Hell’s Gate a little over two weeks away it’s been the perfect event to get a few race miles under my belt.”

RESULTS – ALÈS TRÊM
1. Jonny Walker (KTM) 4:15:06
2. Graham Jarvis (Husqvarna) 4:17:12
3. Andreas Lettenbichler (KTM) 4:28:45
4. Pierre Pallut (Husqvarna) 4:48
5. Alexandre Queyreyre (Beta) 4:51
6. Julien Gauthier (Yamaha) 4:58