British extreme enduro rider Graham Jarvis has cemented his place in the Hell’s Gate record books by claiming a fifth win at the Italian event.
Earning a hard-fought victory at the 2017 edition of the one-day Tuscan race, the recent Ales Trem winner finished more than four minutes ahead of his closest challenger at the end of the three-hour main race.
Putting his name at the top of the results at the end of the morning’s qualifying race Jarvis showed that he meant business in Italy. Quick off the start in the main event Graham’s time out front was short lived as Wade Young set the early pace. Never far from his South African rival, when Wade suffered a small technical issue Graham hit the front and never looked back.
Leading at the two-hour mark from Travis Teasdale, Graham steadily extended his lead as darkness fell. Maintaining his impressive pace during the final hour of the race Jarvis earned a well-deserved fifth Hell’s Gate victory, topping the podium ahead of Teasdale and Young.
Graham Jarvis: “It’s been a great event for me. Winning the morning qualifying race was a bit of a surprise. I just made sure I didn’t make any mistakes and that was good enough to get the win. In the main race I got a good start but dropped behind Wade Young, who was running a really strong pace. He had some kind of a problem then, which allowed me to get ahead. I just kept a steady pace going then and things worked out great. There was a lot more man-made sections this year, which isn’t really my things. But to get a fifth Hell’s Gate win is great.”
Results – Hell’s Gate 2017
1. Graham Jarvis (Husqvarna) 3:08:23 (14 laps)
2. Travis Teasdale (KTM) 3:12:34 (14 laps)
3. Wade Young (Sherco) 3:13:42; (14 laps)
4. Mario Roman (Sherco) 3:17:01 (14 laps)
5. Philipp Bertl (Beta) (13 laps)