Image: Philip Platzer/Red Bull.

Jonny Walker claimed an emphatic victory at the 20th edition of the Red Bull Hare Scramble at Erzberg.

With the Iron Giant basking in near-perfect weather conditions, the 500-rider entry blasted off the quarry floor start line under clear bright skies. From the start it was clear that Walker was in business mode, forcing his way to the front on maximum attack.

Clearing every notoriously difficult section with ease, Walker etched out a 15-minute lead to take his second Red Bull Hare Scramble victory at the Erzbergrodeo.

“I believed I could win this race and that’s exactly what I set out to do from the off,” told an ecstatic Walker 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!”

As defending champion, Graham Jarvis was expected to challenge Walker, but a crash moments after the start as he exited the quarry, put him on the back foot. By Carl’s Dinner, Jarvis had passed the rest of the field, but by then Walker was just a dust cloud in the distance.

Walker’s KTM teammate Andreas Lettenbichler delivered yet another podium result at the Iron Giant. Holding second position early on, Lettenbichler was unable to hold off the attack from Jarvis and ended his race in third.

Behind the leading trio, the fight for a top five position was scrapped out between Alfredo Gomez and Paul Bolton. In the end it was Gomez who hung on to beat Bolton and take fourth. Securing a well-deserved fifth, Bolton crossed the finish line moments after Gomez.

Slow to get going, Dougie Lampkin settled into the race as the competitors ventured into the treacherous forestry sections. Steadily picking off riders, Lampkin eventually placed sixth.

In the battle for the remainder of the top 10, Erzbergrodeo rookies, Taylor Robert and Cody Webb fought it out to the finish, with Robert narrowly beating Webb for ninth.

Unfortunately the Erzbergrodeo didn’t go to plan for David Knight. A bad start left him fighting through the field, but some bike problems later in the race forced a premature end to his Red Bull Hare Scramble ride.