Look Back – Erzberg 2013
It was one hell of a race! Erzberg 2013 will be remembered for the snow, the rain, the flooded start, and some guy named Jarvis finally claiming the win. Here’s Enduro21.com’s look back ot some of the stand out moments…
2. We ran this image in the gallery we put up from Friday’s action. But here it is again. It’s kinda crazy to think that with June just one-day away the KTM team were removing snow from their impressive awnings. Thankfully most of the snow went as quickly as it came.
3. These two nailed the commentary during Red Bull’s live Erzberg web coverage. By the time we got back to the media centre there was only 20 minutes left of the web feed, but Jack Burnicle and Daryl Curtis delivered what everyone expected of them… they even knew Husqvarna made motorcycles!
4. Jonny Walker was seriously pissed that he didn’t podium/win Erzberg this year. Doing everything right in the prologue he then grabbed the holeshot in the Red Bull Hare Scramble only for his race to quickly ‘turn to shit.’ Flooding his bike like many others he then charged hard – maybe a little too hard – and got himself right in among the front-runners. There certainly wasn’t a lack of effort from Jonny.
5. It rained all night leading into Sunday’s main event. Not light, drizzly rain – it absolutely pissed it down. Most of the paddock was underwater. Those that slept in tents, well, they didn’t sleep. It was seriously wet.
6. The start area was little different to the paddock. All riders knew that if they pinned it through the water there’d be a chance of a drowned motor. But those serious about winning knew they could ill afford to take things easy. Lars Enockl was the ‘local’ favourite whose race all but ended a stone’s throw from the start. Spare a thought for those who travelled half way around the world only to suck water into their motors and DNF before they reached the bottom of the first hill!
7. Husaberg wanted Jarvis to win, and ensured the nearly man had all the support he needed. Landing ‘helpers’ on all of the gnarliest sections of the track, they had men on the ground in numbers, just in case. Teamwork prevailed and Jarvis got the job done.
8. From a drowned bike to a fifth place finish – Ben Hemingway put in an impressive and spirited performance, once again. Doing his part to ensure five different manufacturers finished within the top six, Ben, like many thought his race was done when he drowned his Beta at the start.
9. Ivan Cervantes showed that he was not only capable of dealing with the far from Spanish weather conditions at Erzberg, but that he could also mix it with the world’s best Hard Enduro riders. On one hill during the Red Bull Hare Scramble Ivan blitzed past Graham Jarvis and Jonny Walker like they were Erzberg beginners. Eight was a creditable performance from Ivan.
10. By the time Enduro21.com got to the finish the podium celebrations were all but done. Sat between runner-up Andreas Lettenbichler and third placed Alfredo Gomez was Graham Jarvis – cold, wet, and looking anything like he’d just spent two hours battling his way around Erzberg. Never one to get overly emotional, Graham seemed more relieved than pleased. Relieved that he’d finally conquered the Iron Giant…
