South African Rider WINS Major European Extreme Enduro
South African professional offroad motorcycle rider Wade Young has landed his first major European extreme enduro win with victory at Hell’s Gate in Italy. Young, who became the youngest winner of the Roof of Africa four years ago at the age of 16, delivered a near flawless performance racing for Sherco, in Italy, to seal a […]
South African professional offroad motorcycle rider Wade Young has landed his first major European extreme enduro win with victory at Hell’s Gate in Italy.
Young, who became the youngest winner of the Roof of Africa four years ago at the age of 16, delivered a near flawless performance racing for Sherco, in Italy, to seal a milestone win.
He wrote on Facebook: “After a total of 9 hours of racing to be crowned the winner at Hell’s Gate, was an indescribable feeling.”
In an interview after the race, he said: “I’m stoked… It feels incredible to have won my first European extreme enduro. I don’t know what to say really, it’s crazy. I’m exhausted but this is one of the best feelings ever.”
Featuring a much revised format for 2016, Hell’s Gate organisers ran a shortened course but with a planned 10-hour day of racing it still proved as tough and gruelling as ever.
Husqvarna’s Graham Jarvis and his teammate Mario Roman were in second and third place.
Starting at 4pm, the main event saw riders tackle a 15-minute lap.
Hot out of the traps, Young pulled the holeshot and set about building a lead over the pack. Close in tow, Roman kept Young honest early on until he was forced to pit and repair his light.
Controlling the pace out front, Young held a near four-minute advantage as they faced the final 30 minutes of the race. Fighting his way around the finishing arena, Young finally crossed the finish line at 7pm as a first time winner of Hell’s Gate.
“The whole day has been pretty much perfect,” said Young. “I just focused on my own thing and rode my own race. Winning the morning prologue was a good confidence boost but I knew the main event would be a different story.
“I knew I needed to lead. I got the holeshot and put down three fast laps. I hung it out for the those laps and I think that’s where I made it count. I knew Graham was coming on strong in the closing stages but in the final arena I kept plugging away.
“Crossing that finish line as the winner is just awesome. I can’t thank Sherco and everyone enough for how hard they’ve worked to get this result.”
All photos and text © Enduro21.com, republished here with kind permission. To see more photos and read the full article, please visit Enduro21.com.