Jonny Walker successfully defended his number one plate at the Red Bull Romaniacs extreme enduro. Photography by Future 7 Media / KTM Images
Red Bull KTM’s Jonny Walker once again battled his fierce rival, Bel-Ray Husqvarna’s Graham Jarvis at the 2015 Red Bull Romaniacs extreme enduro. In what riders called the most difficult, and closely contested race in the event’s history, Walker and Jarvis duked it out all the way to the final day of the five-day race. The duo battled their way through the rugged terrain of Romania’s Carpathian Mountains, which were a bit drier than usual, but after over 24 hours of racing was tallied up, it was the Walker who tasted victory.
“Getting my second win at Red Bull Romaniacs feels amazing,” Walker said. “I rekon that was probably the hardest race I’ve ever done here. With the number one plate there’s always pressure to defend it. I was confident in myself and what I could do but the level has stepped up massively since last year. There are so many guys going fast now it’s crazy.”
Jarvis wasn’t Walker’s only competition at Romaniacs; the event saw a stacked field with riders Alfredo Gomez, Paul Bolton, Wade Young and Andreas Lettenbichler rounding out the top-six.
Jarvis piloted his Husqvarna TE 300 to the front of the field on Day One (following the prologue). Lettenbichler started out strong, finishing second behind Jarvis leaving Walker to take third. Walker had trouble with one of the climbs, and also made some uncharacteristic navigational errors. Even though he remained in podium position, the Red Bull rider called it a “bad day.”
On Day Two, it was Jarvis’ turn to make navigational errors. Even though Walker started with a six-minute deficit, he managed to gain the advantage over Jarvis.
“After my rookie errors from yesterday I had my race face on today,” Walker said. “I was fired up to close the gap to Graham. I got handed a bit of a gift right off the start when I was the only one of the front-runners to find the correct route for the gold class. That immediately reduced my disadvantage to Graham and after a couple of check points I was right with him. Then I managed to pass him before the service check and claw back the six-minute starting advantage he had on me. I knew then that was most of the hard work done.”
Walker went on to gap Jarvis by a comfortable margin by the finish of Day Two. “Letti” took a dive in standings (quite literally) after losing time due to a high-speed crash. New Zealander Chris Birch was also in the running, but crashed out on Day Two. Unlike Birch, Letti soldiered on, and rebounded on Day Three in a big way, taking the stage win. Although Letti eventually went on to finish sixth, he was proud of his efforts in Romania.
“Red Bull Romaniacs is always full of surprises,” Lettenbichler said. “I felt like I rode very strong all week. I had the speed to finish on the podium – maybe more – but my navigational error on Day Two ruined my chances. But getting a win on Day Three was nice.”
The mixed results throughout the first four days of competition set the stage for a thrilling showdown on Day Four, where Jarvis and Walker duked it out for what was one of the closes-ever finishes in the race. The last section of the race was strewn with obstacles, including a balance beam over a mud pit. Walker, who was in the lead, slipped off the beam and needed a second try. But as he was dragging his KTM out of the mud, Jarvis arrived, and cleared the beam.
Although the move allowed Jarvis to top the stage, Walker managed to cross the beam and stop the clock with his overall lead still in tact. After over 24 hours of tallied race time, the final gap was little more than a minute.
“It’s been an unbelievable race,” Jarvis exclaimed. “I think that’s the closest and most competitive one I’ve ever done. It literally went down to the final 50 meters for the win. Of course, I’m disappointed that the victory didn’t fall my way but I gave it everything I had. I rode a good week – only had a couple of mishaps – but overall it was a solid ride. It’s been a very competitive race this year. I think the level had really stepped up. It’s nearly turning into a sprint – the pace has stepped up that much.
“I’m not unhappy to finish second in such a strong group of riders, but hopefully next year I’ll get back on the top step of the podium again.”
Jarvis’ Bel-Ray Husqvarna teammate Alfredo Gomez rounded out the overall podium in third. Gomez spent the first two days of competition finding his footing in the Carpathian Mountains, but began to excel on Day Three. After KTM’s Wade Young drowned his engine in a river crossing, dropping him from third overall, Gomez inherited the point and held it to the finish.
“I knew it would be a tough week,” Gomez said. “The first two days in the mountains were not the best I’ve ever ridden. I definitely made it hard on myself. But Day Three I turned things around with second place and found my Romaniacs rhythm. Starting Day Four I knew third could be a possibility so I pushed hard and got it. I’m super happy with this result.”
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