Enduro
The all-new Hard Enduro World Championship got off to a big start in Israel
Spanish rider Mario Roman won Israel’s Minus 400 event, with world champ Billy Bolt scoring second and veteran Brit Graham Jarvis completing the podium – get up to speed here.
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Mario Roman came through the scorching heat to win the Minus 400 event in Israel, claiming the first win of the all-new and expanded 2022 edition of the Hard Enduro World Championship.
It was a just reward for the Spanish rider who matched determination with supreme skill to claim his first-ever win in the championship. Racing at the front of the pack for the first two days of competition, the Sherco rider started the final day in fourth place. Ahead lay a 75km course winding through the desert that would become increasingly testing toward the end.
While his team-mate Wade Young set the early pace with Billy Bolt in hot pursuit, Roman bided his time. In third place at the final service park, he then used his immense trials skills to come through the gruelling boulder garden and seize the lead.
“It’s amazing to get this win. What a start to the season! I feel like it’s a long time coming since my last big victory,” said Roman. “Overall the race has been very good for its first edition. The entire three days were tough with the terrain and the heat.
“Today was a battle. I started fourth and focused on my own pace. In the technical terrain I caught up to them and after service I pushed on again. In the final key sections I made my move and took the win.”
It was tough on Young who had won the previous day’s prologue and looked set for victory before his challenge faltered in the final mountainous stages and, as the furnace-like heat took its toll, he slipped down to fifth place.
Billy Bolt takes on the extremes of Minus 400
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Defending World Champion Billy Bolt, who had opened the event with a win on day one, retained second place despite nursing two fading tyres on his Husqvarna and a wrist injury sustained during his run to a second successive SuperEnduro World title.
“It’s been a physical start to the season for sure. After a full SuperEnduro season I was a little underprepared coming here,” said Bolt. “Considering how little time I’ve spent on the two-stroke prior to Israel I’m happy with second. At the service point, I could see Mario and Wade’s tyres were in better condition, so I knew I just needed to hang on to the finish to secure a podium result.”
“It feels brilliant to be back racing and even better to finish on the podium. It’s been a long road to recovery to get to this point,” said Jarvis at the finish. “The initial part of today’s race was fast and I wasn’t comfortable going with the top guys straight away – I’m still thinking about my knee. But after the service point, I settled in and started to make progress. The rock section at the end was the decider and I made places there for third.”
AG Racing Team 89’s Alfredo Gomez (GASGAS) was another rider on the move in the closing stages and he too capitalised on Young’s late errors to race his way into fourth.
Michael Walkner digs deep at the Minus 400
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The evergreen Graham Jarvis takes the final podium place at Minus 400
© Nir Amos/Future7Media/Red Bull Content Pool
The riders tackle the huge boulders on the final day of Minus 400
© Nir Amos / Future7Media / Red Bull Content Pool
Wade Young in action at the Minus 400
© Nir Amos/Future7Media/Red Bull Content Pool
“I made a good start today, passed a few guys ahead of me and was soon riding with Graham [Jarvis] and Alfredo [Gomez],” said Walkner. “We’d take it in turns to lead, and it felt great that I was able to keep pace with these two.
“After the service point, there was a really steep uphill, and going up there I was in sixth and looking to move into the top five. I felt like I was riding the best race of my life! Unfortunately, when I reached the finish, the organisers told me I had missed a small loop of the track and that meant I dropped down to eighth. I was disappointed, but it could have been worse.”
More from the Hard Enduro World Championship
Minus 400 is the opening round of a new look Hard Enduro World Championship, which has expanded to nine rounds for 2022, adding this race in Israel plus events in Serbia and Canada alongside classics like the Red Bull Erzbergrodeo and Red Bull Romaniacs.
After the extreme heat and dry terrain of Israel’s Dead Sea, the Hard Enduro World Championship now heads deep into the Serbian Mountains for round two with the Xross Hard Enduro Rally on May 18-21.
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