JARVIS WINS ROMANIACS … AT AGE 47!

Proving yet again that there is no telling what he’s capable of, Graham Jarvis has won the fifth round of the FIM Hard Enduro World Championship, while also claiming a record-breaking seventh Red Bull Romaniacs victory. Five years since his previous win (and 14 years since his first!), Jarvis was back on the top step of the world’s toughest Hard Enduro Rallye podium.

In what’s been a stellar week for the Jarvis Racing Team privateer, the Husqvarna-mounted Jarvis arrived at the final Offroad Day knowing that he had a comfortable lead over second-placed Teodor Kabakchiev. Later admitting to feeling fatigued, the 47-year-old played his cards just right. Finding a comfortable, but competitive pace, he quietly went about his business.

Ticking off checkpoint after checkpoint without trouble, Jarvis moved himself closer to that elusive seventh win. Arriving at the finishing arena in Gusterita with time to spare, he calmly scaled the infamous final climb to cross the finish line as the overall winner. One year since he exited the race with a badly injured knee, Graham has firmly put that memory behind him. He also proves himself as a serious contender in this year’s championship fight.

For Teodor Kabakchiev, the final day of racing in Romania delivered him his debut Red Bull Romaniacs podium and second top-three FIM Hard Enduro result of 2022. However, the young Bulgarian was not settling for second and hit the ground running on the fourth Offroad Day to try and pull time back on Jarvis. Four minutes quicker than Jarvis during the early sections, Kabakchiev impressed. But in the end, Jarvis’s advantage would be too much and the KTM-mounted Bulgarian had to settle for the runner-up position.

Signing off on an incredibly solid week of riding, Sherco’s Mario Roman completed the top three overall at Round 5. The Spaniard rode strongly, picking up two checkpoint wins for second place on Offroad Day 4. More importantly, third overall moves him back into the overall lead in this year’s title fight.

It was KTM’s Manuel Lettenbichler who won the fourth and final Offroad Day. Eager to end Round 5 on a high, Mani blitzed the middle part of the day to open up a two-minute winning margin. Still reeling from his two-hour penalty sustained on Offroad Day 1, the German ended his race just outside the top five, in sixth.

FINAL RESULTS

1. Graham Jarvis (Husqvarna) 21:05:40;

2. Teodor Kabakchiev (KTM) 21:14:12;

3. Mario Roman (Sherco) 21:19:06;

4. Trystan Hart (KTM) 21:38:39;

5. Michael Walkner (GASGAS) 21:44:10;

6. Manuel Lettenbichler (KTM) 22:58:06;

7. Matthew Green (KTM) 24:09:18;

8. David Cyprian (KTM) 24:47:43;

9. Suff Sella (KTM) 25:59:49;

10. Rigor Rico (KTM) 28:03:02.

CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS (AFTER RD5)

1. Mario Roman (Sherco) 73pts;

2. Manuel Lettenbichler (KTM) 70pts;

3. Billy Bolt (Husqvarna) 62pts;

4. Graham Jarvis (Husqvarna) 60pts;

5. Teodor Kabakchiev (KTM) 52pts.

The FIM Hard Enduro World Championship now heads to North America for Round 6 and Red Bull TKO on August 11-14.