Enduro

Graham Jarvis claims fifth Red Bull Romaniacs win

Posted:

Sunday, July 17th, 2016

5:58 PM

Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing‰Ûªs Graham Jarvis is the clear and decisive winner of the 13th edition of Red Bull Romaniacs, securing a record breaking fifth career victory in the world‰Ûªs toughest Hard Enduro Rally.

Red Bull KTM factory rider Alfredo Gomez of Spain wrapped up a tough four-day Red Bull Romaniacs in overall second, finishing behind British veteran Jarvis. Wade Young of South Africa completed the Gold Class podium.

Determined to build on his dominating performance in last month‰Ûªs Erzberg Hare Scramble, Jarvis began the event with only victory on his mind. Getting off to a great start, the Husqvarna rider ended the Sibiu City Prologue in third position.

However, his third position saw him lead the field of 470 riders at the start of the opening day. Unable to find his rhythm early on, he was uncharacteristically off the pace as his closest rivals hunted him down. Ending the opening day in fourth and 10 minutes behind race leader Alfredo Gomez, Jarvis went on the attack on day two.

Graham Jarvis during the Red Bull Romaniacs 2016 prologue

Charging his way to the front of the field, he pulled clear to claim the win. Backing that ride up with another victory on day three, he entered the final day of racing with a 27-minute advantage. With victory within his grasp, he eased his way to the finish line and into the record books as a five-time Romaniacs champion.

"It‰Ûªs an awesome feeling to win my fifth Romaniacs title," Jarvis said, "No one else has ever done that before so this is quite special considering it‰Ûªs been three years since my last victory here. Like always it‰Ûªs been a tough week of racing. I didn‰Ûªt get it together on the first off road day and dropped down the order a bit. I knew I needed to regroup quickly and winning days two and three pretty much helped me secure the win. Finally a big thanks to Husqvarna and Damien my mechanic for their support, it‰Ûªs been a big team effort to get this winning result.‰Û

Alfredo Gomez came home second on his KTM 300 EXC in the Romaniacs 2016. Credit: Mihai Stetcu Red Bull Content Pool

Speaking at the finish line after a massive hill climb on soft and slippery sand, Gomez, who was the winner earlier this year at the Red Bull Minas Riders Hard Enduro in Brazil, commented: ‰ÛÏThis year was my third Romaniacs and it really develops a lot. Last year we had one very difficult day but this year all the days were difficult. The level of the riders is improving but the race is also adapting to all levels. We took almost seven hours every day to finish the first three days, but in the past I remember we were finished in five hours 20 minutes.‰Û

Graham Jarvis and his team celebrate his fifth Red Bull Romaniacs win

The fact that there was nine and a half hours difference between the winner and eighth place Gold Class finisher David Cyprian of the Czech Republic was a good illustration of the difficulty of the race.

Main Photo: Graham Jarvis on the podium

Final Results ‰ÛÒ Red Bull Romaniacs 2016
1. Graham Jarvis (Husqvarna) 27:04:55
2. Alfredo Gomez (KTM) 27:40:23
3. Wade Young (Sherco) 27:45:29
4. Mario Roman (Husqvarna) 28:07:48
5. Scott Bouverie (KTM) 30:42:45