As defending champion of the Alèstrêm Hard Enduro in France, Graham Jarvis was hungry to secure victory at the fourth edition of the race. Frustratingly, the Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing rider damaged his clutch while challenging for the lead during Sunday’s main race, forcing him to pit for repairs before charging back up the leaderboard to earn a runner-up result.
Getting his participation in the two-day event off to a strong start, Jarvis put in an impressive ride in the Saturday night SuperEnduro styled prologue to finish second on his TE300i.
Knowing Sunday’s three-lap, 150-kilometre long main race would be a tough one, Graham was happy to let close rivals Mario Roman and Wade Young lead during laps one and two, prior to the tougher sections on lap three.
But in damaging his clutch hose on a branch at the end of lap two, Jarvis was left without a functioning clutch just as he was about to begin the crucial final lap.
Rapid repairs in the pits by Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing mechanic Damien Butler saw Jarvis get going again in fourth, albeit over 10 minutes behind the leaders.
Putting everything into the final lap, Jarvis managed to fight his way back to second but couldn’t make a challenge for the win, settling for a hard-fought runner-up result.
Graham Jarvis: “Congratulations to Mario he rode great and I was looking forward to battling with him on the final lap. Unfortunately, my clutch got damaged and I thought my race was over but somehow Damien fixed it in a couple of minutes. That saved my race for sure. To be honest at that stage I thought finishing on the podium would be a big ask but I was feeling really good on the TE300i, and riding really good. The bike was performing great on the hardest sections and quite quickly I managed to make my way into third, with about three-quarters of a lap to go I was in second. But Mario was just too far ahead. Despite giving it everything I had to settle for the runner-up result.”
