British extreme enduro motorcycle rider Graham Jarvis won the 2011 Roof of Africa – beating three-time winner Chris Birch on his first attempt in the Mountain Kingdom of Lesotho. South African Jade Gutzeit finished third after he lost a close contest with Birch a few hundred metres before the flag.
Jarvis (Flite Extreme Husaberg) added the Roof of Africa race victory to his 2011 list that consisted of four (of the five) world extreme enduro races, but admitted that racing for more than seven hours each day for two days made his first Roof of Africa experience quite tough. In the Gold Class competitors had to tackle routes that included various treacherous mountain passes with a distance of 200km on both Friday and Saturday.
Jarvis, Birch (Comsol Alfie Cox KTM) and Gutzeit (Proudly Bidvest Yamaha) stuck together for the best part of the race with just over two minutes separating them at the beginning of the last day.
The UK trials specialist showed his skills on the more technical rocky climbs and took the lead halfway through the day to beat Birch by 22 minutes 10 seconds.
The Kiwi crashed hard early on Saturday and his bike landed on top of him, causing him to injure his foot. He is happy with his result and gave Jarvis all the credit for winning this edition of the Roof of Africa, which he described as one of the toughest for him personally.
Riders had to dig deep and stories of determination combined with support from the crowds, brought tears to many eyes. One such moment played itself out at the top of Bushman’s Pass at the VW Amarok Finish for the Gold Class competitors, where more than 5 000 spectators witnessed Gutzeit’s luck turn soon after he appeared as the second rider behind Jarvis. He made a mistake on an energy-sapping incline and lost valuable minutes recovering his bike.
This resulted in Birch overtaking him with the chequered flag in sight and he eventually finished 7 minutes 41 seconds behind the dethroned Kiwi. It was the fourth consecutive year that he completed this extreme enduro race as the highest South African finisher.
Marc Torlage (Mr Price Yamaha) was happy with his fourth place finish, after starting from pole position on Friday. He struggled with his bike and lost 25 minutes on the day, but managed to hold his position. He, along with Brian Capper (Full Throttle Red Bull KTM), had the crowd on their feet with a spectacular 50 metre sprint to the finish line. Torlage crossed less than a bike length in front of Capper, who finished seventh overall after racing consistently for three days.
Also worth a mention is Blake Gutzeit, who at only 16 years of age, attempted his first Roof on a YZ 125. He finished 20th in Gold Class!
For more on the event, visit the Roof of Africa website.