IN
THE
WIND
P34
JARVIS STEALS SEA TO SKY WIN
A
fter a long season of runner-up finishes,
Graham Jarvis came to the Red Bull Sea To
Sky – the final round of the 2015 Red Bull Hard
Enduro series – looking for a win. The Bel-Ray
Husqvarna Factory racer was determined to
defend his number-one plate at the three-day race
in Turkey, and stop KTM rider Jonny Walker from
taking a grand slam in the Hard Enduro champion-
ship. Jarvis succeeded in doing so with a daring
move in what was described as an epic battle in
Sunday's Mountain Race.
After finishing second on Friday in the Beach
Race, and third on Saturday in the Forest Race,
Jarvis lined up for the Mountain Race seeking a win.
In typical Jarvis fashion, he didn't get out to a strong
start, but he didn't need to – Jarvis had a plan.
"I knew everyone would be pushing for position
early on so I let them get on with it and settled into
my own race," Jarvis said. "I had a bit of ground to
make up after the canyon section. I got up to third
after the first fuel stop and closed up on Jonny
[Walker] shortly afterwards.
"I had a trick up my sleeve and gambled on
skipping the second fuel stop. I knew the trail
afterwards was going to be tight single-track so
if I was in front, there would be a good chance I
could keep the lead. It paid off and I got in front of
Jonny when he was stopped. From there I pushed
hard over the mountain."
Jarvis' risky decision ended up playing out in his
favor, as his TE300 two-stroke made it over Olym-
pos Moutain and to the checkered flag without
issue. Walker gave his best effort to chase down
Jarvis, but couldn't close the gap on his archrival.
"It always sucks to lose – especially with a
perfect season to play for," Walker lamented. "But
I rode a good race. Graham just had more pace
over the mountain. I felt like I did almost every-
thing right early on but I knew Graham was on a
mission today.
Walker might have been able to fight harder for
the win, but was riding in pain after a crash in the
early going.
"My start was decent and I made my way into
Graham Jarvis
succeeded in
defending his
number one
plate at the Red
Bull Sea to Sky.
Johnny
Walker was
looking to
wrap up
a perfect
season, but
had to settle
for second
in the final
race of the
Hard Enduro
series.
