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All content © Bob MuIIins | ||
 
Graham
Jarvis wins the
last Tough One Rockstar Energy/ Husqvarna factory rider Graham Jarvis won his 4th Tough One title and the £4000 prize in the 12th and final race to be run at Nantmawr Quarry. No one would have believed, in the last years of the Twentieth century, that human affairs were being watched from the timeless worlds of space. No one could have dreamed we were being scrutinized, as someone with a microscope studies creatures that swarm and multiply in a drop of water. Few men even considered the possibility of an Extreme Enduro in Nantmawr Quarry and yet, Steve Ireland did and slowly and surely, he drew his plans against us.
After a break for lunch and yarns the main race started at 1.30pm. Fittingly, the last ever running of The Tough One saw the event's two most successful racers - Graham Jarvis (Husqvarna) and David Knight (KTM) racing head to head. Fastest away from the drop of the flag it was Paul Bolton who held the lead during the early stages of the race. But it wasn't long before a determined Knight hit the front. An emotional Steve Ireland dropped the Union flag for the last time in the vast silent amphitheatre and the final Tough One roared into life. Paul Bolton took the early lead with a 11 second advantage from Wade Young at the end of the first lap. Jono Richardson was 3rd. On the second lap - 6 times winner - David Knight - hit the front as the leaders ran into and over the backmarkers but he couldn't shake off Graham Jarvis. Graham had been a late entry as he struggled with a back injury but he soon put his back into the task in hand and pushed the Knighter at every obstacle.
Steve Ireland: "This was the last Tough One at Nantmawr Quarry. It's crazy to think that 12 amazing Tough One events have come and gone. If I think of the riders that have raced here, it makes all the hard work that's gone into running the event more than worth wile. We've seen riders such as Mario Rinaldi, Cyril Despres, Anders Eriksson, Kari Tiainen, Ian Hutchinson the road racer, Taddy Blazusiak and more. It's just unbelievable. Then there's the very best of British - David Knight, the enduro legend and six-time event winner, Mr Extreme Graham Jarvis and last year's winner Jonny Walker. Personally, I feel this was the best Tough One we've seen. The racing was great and a perfect way to finish off the story of the event. I'm proud of the WOR team and proud of the riders who've competed. I also want to thank the landowner for everything she's done for us. And of course all the sponsors, spectators and riders that made the event what it was. The Tough One is finished now but the Tough 100 is the new extreme enduro event WOR are working on. It's going to be 100 miles over open mountains in the middle of June. This year it'll be the start for our next big event…"
Results - Photos -Videos Team Brad - Crash of the day
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All the features of the iconic race were in place: the Rock Garden, the
Root of All Evil. the Truck trailer and the scrap cars, The forecast rain held off for the
Vets and Sportsmen morning
race. In 2015 the Le Mans start up the hill resembled the running of the bulls in Pamplona and
it was dropped in favor of a shorter and healthier dash. Off the line Veteran Mick Boam took a good lead
which became a very good lead (1min40seconds) when the following pack got tangled up on the
climb after the the Root of All Evil. Grant Churchward emerged from the melee in
2nd with Alex Owen 2nd and Karl Greenhall 3rd. For the next 2 hours Mick Boam
extended his lead to almost lap the entire field. Grant
Churchward was runner up, Kiaran Hankin was 3rd. Alex Owen was 4th and Anthony Tempest
whipped up a storm in 5th. Chris
Bailey in 6th was the Best Sportsman ahead of Marc Vardy (12th) and James Walker
(14th). Tom Knight - the youngest rider to compete in the Tough One - finished
9th on an 85 cc KTM. As well as collecting the Vets Trophy Mick Boam was
also the recipient of the Ross Hall Cup in memory of the Veteran rider who
sadly died last year.
By the halfway
stage the rain had blown in and greased the track. Despite the field thinning
out, the lap times for the top riders
lengthened by a third. The riders looked to the pits for fuel and air. Graham Jarvis took the lead
after
David Knight pitted but he pushed a little too hard to extend his advantage and
crashed. It was his only mistake of the race, While Jarvis pitted Knighter
re-took the lead. Re-grouping Jarvis picked up his pace and he went on to win David Knight was runner up and Paul Bolton was 3rd. Wade
Young 4th and Jono Richardson was 5th. Billy Bolt was 6th, Owain Humphreys 7th,
Gethin Humphreys 8th, Wayne Braybrook 9th and Ben Hemingway. Charlie
Frost was the early pace setter in the Expert class until he was passed by Luke
Lusher. Luke finished 11th overall to take the Experts ahead of Frostie in 13th
and Danny Thomas (18th) was 3rd. Brad Williams 4th and Jonathan Pearson 5th. Matthew
Jones was the Best Clubman - leading from the
start. Sam Skyme was 2nd and Josh Bailey was 3rd. Glesni Non Jones celebrated
her 19th birthday with 3 laps of honour. 
Graham Jarvis: “I was second off the start, which is a huge
improvement compared to my previous races. Some riders overtook me but
the goal for the first few laps was to look for the best lines. I had
a decent fight with David Knight today. Knighter knows this place well
and is always fast here. When he pitted I decided to push hard and
ended up crashing. I quickly got back on my bike and decided to stay
behind Knight for a few laps. Shortly after the midway point I passed
him and managed to open up a decent gap. The track was wet and muddy
but to be honest it didn’t really make a huge difference for me. My
strongest point was the slower and more technical sections inside the
quarry, that’s where my TE 300 excelled really. It’s been ten year
since I first raced here at Nantmawr Quarry. I’m glad I got the win,
my fourth Tough One victory, at the very last edition of the event.” 