KTM’s Jonny Walker grabs his second Red Bull Hare Scramble in three years at the Iron Giant in Erzberg, Austria; defending champ Graham Jarvis second.
KTM rider Jonny Walker rose above a titanic field and adverse conditions to score a convincing win at the 20th running of the Red Bull Hare Scramble at the Iron Giant during the Erzbergrodeo in Erzberg, Austria, June 1.
Weather conditions were favorable as the 500-rider field got underway on the Iron Giant’s quarry floor, and from the start it was clear that Walker was on a mission, as he powered through the pack in the opening lap. Walker cleared every difficult section with ease as he began to build a lead that would grow to 15 minutes by the finish. Walker completed the race in 1 hour, 37 minutes and 38 seconds to take his earn his second Red Bull Hare Scramble win at the Erzbergrodeo. Afterward, Walker said that he felt as though he had given it everything he had.
“I believed I could win this race and that’s exactly what I set out to do from the off,” Walker said at the finish line. “I’ve trained my butt off since The Tough One. I felt ready, and I gave it everything I had. Overall the race went well. I hardly made any mistakes and got the win. I’m so happy right now. I needed this!”
Defending Red Bull Hare Scramble Champion Graham Jarvis was expected to be a threat for a repeat win, but Jarvis tangled with fallen riders, crashed and was forced climb the hill a second time on his Bel-Ray Husqvarna moments after the start as he exited the quarry. Jarvis found himself outside the top 40, but he went to work, passing as many riders as he could. By the time he reached the section known as Carl’s Dinner, he was in second place, but Walker was long gone.
“To be honest my chance of winning ended on the very first hill out of the quarry floor,” Jarvis said. “I came off the line quite well but got boxed out going into the first corner. When I came to the first climb, a few riders crashed in front of me. and I then crashed trying to get around them. I had to take a second run at the climb. That put me behind straight away, and it was an uphill battle from there. The pace was pretty high and it was tough to fight back. I got up to second going through Carl’s Diner but by that stage Jonny Walker was just too far ahead to catch. I had to take second. It’s disappointing–I wanted to win.”
Walker’s KTM teammate, Andreas Lettenbichler completed the Red Bull Hare Scramble with a podium finish. Lettenbichler was second for much of the race, but he was unable to hold off the flying Jarvis and had to settle for third place.
There was a good battle for the final top five positions between Alfredo Gomez and Paul Bolton. In the end, Gomez and his factory Husqvarna beat Bolton to grab fourth place. Multi-time former World Trials Champion Dougie Lampkin found a good pace after a slow start, and he picked off several riders in the treacherous forest sections to eventually finish sixth. Cory Graffunder made his long trip to Erzberg from Canada worthwhile by finishing seventh, ahead of Ben Hemingway.
The final two spots in the top 10 were occupied by American riders who also happened to be Erzbergrodeo rookies. FMF/KTM’s Taylor Robert and American Beta’s Cody Webb fought it out to the finish, with Robert narrowly beating Webb for ninth.
Red Bull Hare Scramble 2014
Erzberg, Austria
Results:
Overall
1. Jonny Walker-KTM/1:37:38
2. Graham Jarvis-Hus/1:50:50
3. Andreas Lettenbichler-KTM/1:53:01
4. Alfredo Gomez-Hus/1:53:53
5. Paul Bolton-KTM/1:55:21
6. Dougie Lampkin-KTM/2:05:31
7. Cory Graffunder-Hus/2:05:51
8. Ben Hemingway-Bet/2:18:01
9. Taylor Robert-KTM/2:19:24
10. Cody Webb-Bet/2:20:06
Red Bull Hare Scramble Winners List
2014-Jonny Walker, UK, KTM
2013-Graham Jarvis, UK, Hbg
2012-Jonny Walker, UK, KTM
2011-Taddy Błażusiak Poland, KTM
2010-Taddy Błażusiak Poland, KTM
2009-Taddy Błażusiak Poland, KTM
2008-Taddy Błażusiak Poland, KTM
2007-Taddy Błażusiak Poland, KTM
2006-David Knight UK, KTM
2005-David Knight UK, KTM
2004-Chris Pfeiffer, Germany, Gas Gas
2003-Cyril Despres, Andorra, KTM
2002-Cyril Despres, Andorra, KTM
2001-Juha Salminen, Finland, KTM
2000-Chris Pfeiffer, Germany, Gas Gas
1999-Stefano Passeri, Italy, KTM
1998-Giovanni Sala, Italy, KTM
1997-Chris Pfeiffer, Germany, Gas Gas
1996-Chris Pfeiffer, Germany, Gas Gas
1995-Alfie Cox South, Africa, KTM
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