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All content © Bob MuIIins | |||
 
Graham Jarvis leads the 2017 Minas Riders The second RedBull Minas Riders got off to a wet start with rain drenching the Wednesday night Prologue in Ouro Perto near Belo Horizonte. Defending Champion Alfredo Gomez on a KTM 300 4T set the fastest time on the slippery logs ahead of Graham Jarvis (Husqvarna 300 2T) and Hard Enduro rookie Cody Webb (KTM 300 2T). Paul Bolton (KTM 300 2T) was 4th. Day 1 On Day 1 the starting order was set by the Prologue and Cody Webb led the field followed by Graham Jarvis and Alfredo Gomez at 3 minute intervals. Conditions were challenging as the rain continued and low cloud shrouded the mountains. The undeniable experience of Graham Jarvis soon showed itself as he closed on Webb and passed him on the 2nd check but Webb is a keen learner and he slotted onto Graham's mudguard to take a free lesson from the master. With the finish line in sight Webb lunged ahead to cross the line first but on adjusted times Graham had won the first day. Webb was runner up and a battered Alfredo Gomez was 3rd, Philipp Scholz (KTM 300 4T} from Germany was 4th a Paul Bolton was 5th.
Day 2
The event was stopped by the local authorities; Graham Jarvis: “It’s great to come away with the win here in Brazil but it is a bittersweet victory due to the race being cut short by two days. It was a situation that arose beyond the event organisers’ control and it’s disappointing for them and the sport for this to happen. They do an excellent job and I want to thank them for all their hard work, which often goes unappreciated. The first two days of the race were awesome. The conditions were tough, made harder by the weather but trails were fantastic. I was enjoying the fight with Cody too. We rode together quite a lot and I could feel that battle was going to continue right until the chequered flag. We were pushing each other a lot, at times I had an advantage and at other times he did. Day one was probably where I ultimately got the event won. I attacked hard from the beginning because last year I lost too much time on the opening day and didn’t want to let that happen again. I won the day by three minutes and then was able to maintain that on day two. It’s been good to end the second edition of the event in Brazil with a victory and I’m now looking forward to bringing that winning momentum to the ErzbergRodeo next month.”
Paul Bolton said "Well what a eventful race !!! The Red Bull Minas Riders in Brazil had very tough conditions which tested everybody. Amazing trails and awesome enthusiasm from the Brazilian people made it all the more more unfortunate that it was cut short. Can't be helped. C'est la vie! Big thanks to everyone who helped me out during the race. Eurotek Ktm KTM UK CI Sport and orange bh for the bike". Photos Marcelo Maragni
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The weather conditions on Day 2 continued to be poor but Cody Webb was
improving. Following Graham Jarvis. he closed on the leader throughout the day
and crossed the line first to record his debut win. Graham was second and he
maintained the overall but diminished lead. Alfredo Gomez struggled with a
shoulder injury but -according the official results - he recorded the fastest
time of the day ahead of Philipp Scholz 2nd, Cody Webb 3rd, Paul Bolton 4th and
Graham Jarvis 5th. Overall the leader board remained the same.