The Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing rider looked strong from the first lap. Riding in contention with the race leaders, Mario continued to push during lap two, arriving at the all-important third and final lap well placed for a podium result. With Walker, Roman and Wade Young emerging as the three lead riders, the trio were separated by only a handful of seconds.
Holding onto Walker, Mario arrived at the base of the final climb no more than 20 seconds behind the leader. Climbing the final hill in his first attempt the Rockstar Energy Husqvarna rider reached the finish less than three seconds behind winner Walker and 17 seconds ahead of Young for a solid runner-up result.
“It was a great race with a very positive result for us,” said Mario. “We had a very intense battle with Jonny and Wade and it all went down to the very last hill. It could have easily been me getting away with the win, but still I can’t complain as I did a pretty good race. I got a great start but came together with some other riders in the first hill and we all crashed. It was very slippery in some parts. I pushed a lot in the soft sandy parts and made some good passes. My bike was working perfect and I enjoyed every moment.”
Graham Jarvis was the only other rider to finish within a minute of the race winner. Looking very much like he had the speed to secure victory, the Erzberg and Romaniacs winner lost time to the leading trio on the faster sections of the final lap but nevertheless claimed an impressive fourth place result.
“Overall, the race went pretty well. We knew this wasn’t going to be like any other extreme enduro event,” explained Jarvis. “The rain made the terrain a bit tougher than last year, but still the pace was very fast in some places. During the opening lap it was kind of a struggle to find your way through the flags. Then after the second lap it was more like a motocross race. I made some good passes after the start and got the lead on lap two. I lead for a while but then started losing ground on the faster bits. I was riding good and at the end of the race my gap to first place was less than ten seconds.”
Results – Megawatt, 2016
1. Jonny Walker (KTM) 2:47:27
2. Mario Roman (Husqvarna) 2:47:30
3. Wade Young (Sherco) 2:47:47
4. Graham Jarvis (Husqvarna) 2:47:56
5. Taddy Blazusiak (KTM) 2:54:20
6. Manni Lettenbichler (KTM) 2:57:44
7. Alfredo Gomez (KTM) 3:06:08
8. Adam Tomiczek (KTM) 3:16:17
9. David Cyprian (KTM) 3:17:54
10. Stefan Svitko (KTM) 3:18:31…
