Jarvis, Gomez Ready for Red Bull Romaniacs

Graham Jarvis and Alfredo Gomez will represent Bel-Ray Husqvarna Factory Racing at the Red Bull Romaniacs on July 18.

Bel-Ray Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Graham Jarvis and Alfredo Gomez are all set to tackle the Red Bull Romaniacs in Sibiu, Romania, July 14-18, and both men are considered to be contenders for the win.

The Red Bull Romaniacs is regarded by many off-road enthusiasts as the hardest of the hard enduros, but Jarvis has the credentials to claim the win. He is the winningest rider in the event’s history with four victories, and he will be seeking a fifth win at the event in Sibiu. Jarvis was disappointed to net a runner-up finish to Red Bull KTM’s Jonny Walker in 2014, but he is feeling confident that he can put his TE 300 on the top step of the podium again.

“The Red Bull Romaniacs is a race I look forward to the most every year,” Jarvis said. “It’s my favorite event on the calendar and one that’s been very good to me in the past. I’m proud to have the most number of wins in the history of the race, but I’m not done yet and really want to add to that tally. Finishing second last year was tough, but I feel like I rode a great race. Going to Sibiu this year I know the level of competition is even higher than before, but I’m confident I can put my Husqvarna at the sharp end of the results.”

Gomez missed the 2014 Red Bull Romaniacs due to injury, but the Spanish rider put together a strong performances in the Romanian Carpathian Mountains when he made his debut there in 2013. Despite a lack of experience specifically in the Red Bull Romaniacs, Gomez bagged an impressive impressive runner-up finish to Jarvis, and he is motivated to prove that result was not a fluke. Gomez is eyeing up a successful result at the end of the five-day competition.

“It’s great to be back at Red Bull Romaniacs,” Gomez said. “Missing it last year due to an unfortunate injury was very difficult for me. I made my debut ride there in 2013 and was able to finish as the runner-up. For my first effort it was a great result, and having missed a year I feel like I need to try and prove myself all over again. The race is difficult and there’s a lot to learn, so I’m trying to keep an open mind about my result. Obviously I want to return to the podium. I feel like my riding is about as good as it’s ever been [and] my performance at Erzberg showed that. Hopefully with a little luck things will work out, and I can make amends for missing the race last year.”

The Red Bull Romaniacs gets underway today with the notoriously difficult prologue and finishes on Saturday.