offroad Jarvis Claims Fourth at WESS Round One

[ThumperTalk]

Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing Rider Digs Deep for Top-Four Result at Portugal’s Extreme XL Lagares

May 13, 2019 – (Motor Sports Newswire) – Graham Jarvis has led home the Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing team at the opening round of the World Enduro Super Series (WESS) in Portugal with a strong fourth place result. With the notoriously challenging Hard Enduro event marking the start of the 2019 WESS season, Jarvis narrowly missed out on a podium result, placing just eight seconds behind the third placed rider after four hours of challenging racing.

Defending WESS champion Billy Bolt – who returned to competitive action following injury – finished an impressive fifth, while Alfredo Gomez ended his day in seventh to ensure a strong set of results from the entire Rockstar Energy Husqvarna team.

As a three-time winner of Extreme XL Lagares, Graham Jarvis entered the three-day event in confident spirits. In a race where experience counts, the Husqvarna TE 300i rider put in considered and steady performances during Friday and Saturday’s qualifying action, saving himself for Sunday’s main event.

Faced with a long two-lap race, Jarvis quietly worked his way up the leaderboard on lap one to position himself for an attack on the podium on lap two. Gaining ground on the early leaders, he worked his way up to second midway around the lap. Frustratingly, a couple of small errors cost him some valuable time, eventually finishing fourth and less than 10 seconds shy of a top-three result.

Back to competitive action following a serious leg injury sustained last November, Bolt was keen to gain quality race time. But as the defending WESS champion and winner of the event in 2018, he also wanted to deliver his best.

Placing third in Saturday’s City Prologue in Porto showed he was determined to secure a strong result in Sunday’s main race. Starting well, he comfortably held the pace of the top five during lap one. But as fatigued set in during the latter half of lap two he was unable to make a challenge for the podium yet held on to claim a well-deserved fifth.

Also a three-time winner of the race, Alfredo Gomez was eager to make it a fourth victory in Portugal. Winning the Prologue, the Spaniard set himself up as the fastest seeded rider for Sunday’s Hard Enduro. Setting off first, Gomez was unable to settle into the rhythm of the race and was quickly caught by the chasing pack. Despite trying all he could to up his pace, he ended his day in seventh.

The World Enduro Super Series continues with round two, Trefle Lozerien AMV, on May 17-19.

Graham Jarvis: “I’m really happy with how things went today, especially as I haven’t really been on the bike for the past two weeks due to some niggling little injuries. I was feeling a bit tense on the first lap but loosened up on the second and was able to up my pace a little. The bike felt great today and I was really able to attack the gnarly stuff – some of it I was able to get up in one go. The course was as challenging as ever – there was even a new gully for this year that was about half a mile long. I had fun though and it feels good to get a top result, even if I did just miss out on the podium. I’m looking forward to my next race now and hopefully I can get a similar result, or better.”

Billy Bolt: “I’m so happy with my result, it’s been a long three days, but I got to the finish. I didn’t really have a plan coming into today’s race, I just wanted to try and stick with the other guys for as long as I could. My pace on the first lap was good, I just didn’t quite have the energy to keep up when we got back into the technical stuff on the second lap. I gritted my teeth and kept going, but it was quite a lonely second lap to be honest. I’m over the moon with the result – it feels like a win. Six weeks ago, it didn’t look like I would be ready to ride here after my injury, so to be able to finish with such a strong result feels amazing.”

Alfredo Gomez: “It was very tricky out there, one of the toughest day’s riding I have had for a long time. It was so slippery, and I had quite a few crashes. I set off first and unfortunately lost sometime early on when I made a mistake. I think three riders passed me and then we got into the first river and I struggled to stay with them. It’s a shame because yesterday my pace was so good and to come away with the Prologue win felt great. Today I just couldn’t get comfortable with things. We have a week until the next race so I will try to recover as best as I can and get prepared for France.”

Results – WESS Round 1: Toyota Porto Extreme XL Lagares

1. Mario Roman (Sherco) 4:01:43.21
2. Wade Young (Sherco) 4:05:59.04 +4:15.83
3. Manuel Lettenbichler (KTM) 4:07:09.68 +5:26.47
4. Graham Jarvis (Husqvarna) 4:07:16.12 +5:32.91
5. Billy Bolt (Husqvarna) 4:15:19.68 +13:36.47
6. Jonny Walker (KTM) 4:29:26.58 +27:43.37
7. Alfredo Gomez (Husqvarna) 4:34:51.08 +33:07.87
8. Taddy Blazusiak (KTM) 4:53:58.02 +52:14.81
9. Travis Teasdale (KTM) 5:01:43.91 +1:00:00.70
10. Jonathan Richardson (Husqvarna) 5:11:22.83 +1:09:39.70

2019 World Enduro Super Series Standings (after round 1)

1. Mario Roman (Sherco) 1000 points
2. Wade Young (Sherco) 850 pts
3. Manuel Lettenbichler (KTM) 770 pts
4. Graham Jarvis (Husqvarna) 690 pts.
5. Billy Bolt (Husqvarna) 610 pts
6. Jonny Walker (KTM) 570 pts
7. Alfredo Gomez (Husqvarna) 530 pts
8. Taddy Blazusiak (KTM) 490 pts
9. Travis Teasdale (KTM) 460 pts
10. Jonathan Richardson (Husqvarna) 430 pts

 

 

Husqvarna Motorcycles. Tradition on two wheels since 1903.

Husqvarna Motorcycles are widely known and respected in the off-road world for a heritage of competition and numerous motocross and enduro world championships. Originally founded in Sweden in 1903, Husqvarna Motorcycles have been designed and manufactured in Mattighofen, Austria since 2013.

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[jetfuel]

https://www.redbull.com/int-en/tv/video/AP-1Z8K98KP51W11/graham-jarvis-s-main-race-pov

 

About 10:30 is a really nice stream section leading to a small waterfall. 

15:40 nice rocky hill climb

Edited May 13, 2019 by jetfuel

[pat22043]

Graham always has to work hard in these events, he is not all that fast in the fake crowd-pleasing events (prolog thru the streets, endurocross, or even Erzberg's prolog) so he tends to start farther back than the younger fast guys. But he is amazing in the technical slop, and can make up time. He won't do well next weekend at  Trèfle Lozérien, but then we get to Erzberg....

[phantom451]

Sherco is a bike that doesn't get enough press time. Anything that can last through that and win must be a decent platform no?

[jetfuel]

3 minutes ago, phantom451 said:

Sherco is a bike that doesn't get enough press time. Anything that can last through that and win must be a decent platform no?

Yes a Decent bike for sure , But few in numbers and Dismal in resale around here 

[pat22043]

2 minutes ago, phantom451 said:

Sherco is a bike that doesn't get enough press time. Anything that can last through that and win must be a decent platform no?

I have a riding buddy with a Sherco and its a nice bike. But until recently, in the US, there was not much coverage for KTM and Husqv, let alone more niche brands like Beta, GasGas or Sherco.

I don't know how "stock" or "similar to a consumer production bike" the two that were on the podium were. I know that the KTM and Husqv riders ride bikes that look very similar to production KTM 300XCW and the Husqv equivalent. But I don't expect that they are really dead stock either.

They are alot closer to what mortals can buy than say a NASCAR car or a Baja 1000 truck.

[phantom451]

Just now, jetfuel said:

Yes a Decent bike for sure , But few in numbers and Dismal in resale around here 

Its non existent around me. I've read about them in dirt rider years ago. Spanish? It's all about what we can do as consumers. Id like to support these boutique brands but just need to know what I'd like to own. 99 yz115 is my favorite. Lol to me no 125 compares. Probably every 125 produced after 99 was better. Just taste I guess. But knowing I would be happy with a purchase would be nice. That whole you own it and it's great since you paid for it. That us a thing that we all suffer from..

[phantom451]

4 minutes ago, pat22043 said:

I have a riding buddy with a Sherco and its a nice bike. But until recently, in the US, there was not much coverage for KTM and Husqv, let alone more niche brands like Beta, GasGas or Sherco.

I don't know how "stock" or "similar to a consumer production bike" the two that were on the podium were. I know that the KTM and Husqv riders ride bikes that look very similar to production KTM 300XCW and the Husqv equivalent. But I don't expect that they are really dead stock either.

They are alot closer to what mortals can buy than say a NASCAR car or a Baja 1000 truck.

You know, I think most ktm bikes are very stock in pro trim. They are super refined. It's tough to know on every other brand. You hear it from mechanics though about the ktm bikes being so close to production model spec for pro racers we read about winning on. I'm not a ktm guy really. I just like chromoly frames. Beta always intrigues me but I'm a weight weenie and they read heavy in spec. These sherco bikes regardless of spec. Need to be more mainstream if they are winning against names that guys worship. Really! In the end I guess the cream rises to the top.. I dunno. I like tm bikes and have watched them race in person. Always wondered why these aren't more popular. The reason is they either break or aren't as good as the yz 125 from 99 that I like so much? I'm guessing again. I'd like to see these bikes taken more seriously if they win big races. That's proper!

[Zinergy]

49 minutes ago, pat22043 said:

Graham always has to work hard in these events, he is not all that fast in the fake crowd-pleasing events (prolog thru the streets, endurocross, or even Erzberg's prolog) so he tends to start farther back than the younger fast guys. But he is amazing in the technical slop, and can make up time. He won't do well next weekend at  Trèfle Lozérien, but then we get to Erzberg....

Yes! Alot of guys would beat Graham in the open but in the technical stuff he shits on just about everyone. 

If the world ever needed a hero who could cross the technical maze that is Godzilla's nut sack to plant a nuke on his taint, graham jarvis would be my recommendation.

[indy rider]

44 minutes ago, phantom451 said:

Sherco is a bike that doesn't get enough press time. Anything that can last through that and win must be a decent platform no?

This thread is a great example of why they don't get proper press coverage and respect. Sherco goes 1-2 and the obviously Austrian bias OP(in the name of TT) chose to name the topic's title about the 4th place finisher. 

Some orange clown pulled the same shit last year when Mario won . I remember calling them out on it then too. ?

 

[redrider144]

6 minutes ago, Zinergy said:

If the world ever needed a hero who could cross the technical maze that is Godzilla's nut sack to plant a nuke on his taint, graham jarvis would be my recommendation.

@Mongo134 & @mog could do it. They've been practicing acrobatic stunts off of Herlings grundle for nearly a year.

[redrider144]

4 hours ago, ThumperTalk said:

Graham Jarvis has led home the Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing team at the opening round of the World Enduro Super Series (WESS) in Portugal with a strong fourth place result. 

Amazing, considering his injuries.

Edited May 14, 2019 by redrider144

[NoFiddyPilot]

41 minutes ago, indy rider said:

This thread is a great example of why they don't get proper press coverage and respect. Sherco goes 1-2 and the obviously Austrian bias OP(in the name of TT) chose to name the topic's title about the 4th place finisher. 

Some orange clown pulled the same shit last year when Mario won . I remember calling them out on it then too. ?

 

The topic title was picked by the author of the press release we shared (Husqvarna). But, nice conspiracy theory brah. ? In fact, I pulled Sherco OUT of the Exotics bucket forum to see if we could build a solid owner's following. I forgive you.

 

[phantom451]

12 minutes ago, Bryan Bosch said:

The topic title was picked by the author of the press release we shared (Husqvarna). But, nice conspiracy theory brah. ? In fact, I pulled Sherco OUT of the exotics forum to see if we could build a solid owner's following. I forgive you. ?

 

Damn your a good forum owner!

Website guru! 

Edited May 14, 2019 by phantom451
Its forking bosch!

[redrider144]

11 minutes ago, Bryan Bosch said:

But, nice conspiracy theory brah

Oh he hasn't even skimmed the surface.  I have all sorts of conspiracy theories about you Bryan!

[NoFiddyPilot]

4 minutes ago, phantom451 said:

Damn your a good forum owner!

I liked food forum owner better. ?

[phantom451]

5 minutes ago, Bryan Bosch said:

I liked food forum owner better. 

I laughed when I saw it too!

Hey I mean well. Always respected you.

[Creeature]

1 hour ago, phantom451 said:

Sherco is a bike that doesn't get enough press time. Anything that can last through that and win must be a decent platform no?

She's a majestic steed with the best 2 stroke powerbands there ever once was

[phantom451]

Just now, The Creature said:

She's a majestic steed with the best 2 stroke powerbands there ever once 

I just like that poetry!

[phantom451]

Now this forum is in harmony! 

2t sherco just got put mainstream by the man himself... owners, racers come frolicking in the wonderful life of sherco and let us know how great your bike is...