balance speed with caring for their equipment . While each day would have its own individual winner , it would be the combination of all four days that would determine the overall event victor . With this amount of racing in a very short amount of time , both mental and physical strength would be needed . The event would be GPSguided , with competitors turning their systems over each day ; the GPS would be used to help with navigation , although the course and respective class splits are marked , as well as help with scoring to ensure competitors stayed on course .
Wade Young made a strong start to the event by taking the win in the Time Trial , finishing 37 minutes 42 seconds . Only 19 seconds behind was Bulgarian ’ s Teodor Kabakchiev on his Husqvarna TE300i and Rockstar Energy Husqvarna ’ s Alfredo Gomez . Close behind , and only separated by a few seconds was Lettenbichler , GasGas Factory Racing ’ s Taddy Blazusiak , and sixtime Romaniacs winner Rockstar Energy Husqvarna ’ s Graham Jarvis . Lettenbichler used the Time Trial to help get reacquainted with the terrain , taking a modest fourth place finish .
At 46 years of age , Graham Jarvis continues to remind everyone that he is far from done racing , a statement that was supported by his strong start to the event . After racing for just shy of five hours , Jarvis took the win on Offroad Day 1 a full three minutes 29 seconds ahead of the competition . Lettenbichler would follow in second , with Wade Young only a few minutes back in third .
Late during Offroad Day 2 after all the difficult sections had been conquered , Jarvis made a small mistake and ended up twisting his knee on a high-speed section . This resulted in damage to his ACL , costing him both the day ’ s win and the event . Lettenbichler finished in just over five hours and was able to take the day almost a full 13 minutes ahead of second place Sherco ’ s Mario Roman and third place Rockstar Energy Husqvarna ’ s Billy Bolt .
“ I ’ m gutted with how the race turned out ,” said Jarvis . “ I felt I was doing everything right and had the pace to push for the win this year . Unfortunately , just one little mistake did the damage , and my race was done . My plan now is to head home and get the injury fully assessed .”
Offroad Day 3 saw another mix-up of competition with Wade Young taking the win after four hours 20 minutes of racing , followed closely by Bolt , who seemed to have found his flow in the challenging terrain .