Manuel Lettenbichler, the Hard Enduro World Champion, finished the year with a victory at Getzenrodeo after a fierce battle with Billy Bolt. Lettenbichler said, “That was such a hard race. We had to dig so deep to keep going. Billy was riding really well, and we had to help each other out at times. He made a small mistake, and that’s when I finally passed him. After that, I focused and rode as smoothly as possible to the finish.”
The single-day GetzenRodeo was the final round of the FIM Hard Enduro World Championship. In the morning, 60 riders competed in the two-hour GetzenRace qualifier to earn a spot in the afternoon five-lap GetzenChamp final. The main race day at Getzen consists of two races: the initial race is less intense, with all racers on the circuit. The main event is reserved for the top 20 riders, who face a more challenging course in the reverse direction for a one and a half hour race. The final includes a Joker Lane or X-Loop that each rider must go through once.
Lettenbichler and Bolt started strong and took the Joker Lane early, helping each other and setting a faster time than anyone. Mario Roman briefly took the lead, but halfway through the race, Lettenbichler had a small advantage over Billy Bolt. In the end, Letti and Bolt lapped the entire field.
Billy Bolt finished a close second to Lettenbichler at the Getzenrodeo and runner-up in the Hard Enduro Championship. Bolt said, “I gave it my all today. I felt like I had what was needed to win. In the final, I was riding well and feeling comfortable with the track. When I got into the lead, I pushed as hard as I could to build a gap. But this course is so technical that if you make a mistake, you get punished hard. Missing that rock climb let Mani back into the lead, and I just couldn’t catch up again. I’m happy though. I rode well here and gave it everything. Congrats to Mani on an incredible season too. I’m excited to shift the focus indoors and race SuperEnduro now!”
Bolt stayed strong and closed the gap, eventually overtaking the German with 20 minutes remaining in the race. Ultimately, it came down to a rock step-up, which Billy failed to overcome, allowing Mani to pass him and maintain the lead until the end. Lettenbichler had an outstanding season, winning his fourth Getzenrodeo.
Sherco’s Mario Roman led for a while and finished third overall in the event.Alfredo Gomez took his factory Rieju to a 6th overall, 2 laps down from the leaders.
Hixpania Hard Enduro Results: Mani Lettenbichler crowned 2023 HEWC World Champion with victory in Spain
Mani Lettenbichler: “Here I am now, fifth race win in a row for this season and world champion. I had to push so hard today. I got a good start and was able to pass Billy almost straight away and from there I just focused and kept up a good rhythm. Honestly, the day could not have gone any better for me, the race was awesome. What can I say? I’m just speechless.”
Mani Lettenbichler has won the 2023 FIM Hard Enduro World Championship with his fifth win of the season. He remained undefeated throughout 2023. Lettenbichler overtook Billy Bolt early in the race and maintained a leading position that no one could challenge. It has been an exceptional season for the Red Bull KTM rider, and with one more round to go in two weeks on his home soil in Germany, it seems likely that he will achieve a historic clean sweep.
Finishing second overall, more than six minutes behind Lettenbichler, was Sherco’s Mario Roman, who enjoyed the support of the home crowd.
Mario Roman: “I’m super-stoked how it went today with the second place. Mani was flying the whole season so I believe to beat the other guys is like a win for me. The crowd was amazing and with me the whole time and I think we made a good show for them, especially at the end with the last difficult hills, it was super-sketchy and on the limit of riding but we made it happen.”
In the fifth round of the FIM Hard Enduro World Championship, Billy Bolt from Husqvarna Factory Racing had a solid performance to secure his second place in the championship standings with one round remaining. Bolt won the first two days of racing, including the event’s prologue. On the final day’s main event, he finished third overall on his TE 300.
Billy Bolt: Stopping Mani from winning the title today was always going to be tough. It would have been nice to take the battle to the final round, but he has been on a super high level all year.
Bolt gained valuable points to secure his second place in the HEWC standings, surpassing Trystan Hart. Hart missed a checkpoint yesterday and had to work hard to recover from a 20th place start, ultimately finishing fifth behind Sherco’s Wade Young in fourth. The rider with the fastest lap of the day, former winner Alfredo Gomez on the Rieju, took sixth place.
Manuel Lettenbichler started strong and won his fourth straight FIM Hard Enduro event at the Canadian Outliers. ” I managed to get up most of the hills without any problem and that helped me to conserve as much energy as possible. I bent my handlebars pretty good on one of the last uphills so that was a bit of a worry. Being the first to reach some of the sections was a bit of a disadvantage, because it was so slippery. Four wins in a row now, I’m speechless.” Photo: Mason Mashon / Red Bull Content Pool
Manuel Lettenbichler, the reigning Hare Enduro World Champion and winner of the first three championship events of the year won his fourth straight, the Red Bull Outliers Hard Enduro held in Canada. Team Husqvarna’s Billy Bolt took home second place, followed by local hero Trystan Hart and his Factory FMF KTM.
Billy Bolt: “I had a good start with Mani, and we rode together early on. I had a few mistakes throughout, but generally I was happy with my riding. On the final lap I had one big mistake that allowed Mario to close the gap to me, but I managed to recover and get some breathing room coming into the final big section. I got onto Mani’s wheel there but had pushed a bit hard and just didn’t have an answer to him at the end.” Photo: Tyler Ravelle / Red Bull Content Pool
Letti started off with a big win in the prologue which gave him the pole position start. Bolt and Letti jumped out in front of a dusty, and tenacious course. Behind them chaos ruled. Sherco’s Mario Roman got caught in a crash zone, moving up to third with Wade Young and Trystan Hart in the hunt. Roman kept the leaders in sight in the two and half-hour race, but could never reel them in. Mario’s teammate Wade Young hit the wall on after charging hard losing touch with the lead pack on lap two.
Trystan Hart: “Not the result I wanted to get here at my home race, but I have to be happy with a podium. The prologue didn’t go my way – I made a few too many mistakes there, and today was the same. I got caught up in the mayhem early on and was chasing the whole way after that and it really took everything out of me. It’s great to get onto the podium in front of all my home fans, I just wish it was a couple of steps higher.” Photo: Tyler Ravelle / Red Bull Content Pool
Trystan Hart had to fight hard through dusty conditions and viscous terrain using valuable energy in an attempt to catch the Mani/Bolt duo. The final hill climbs were titanic and played a big role in the finish. Bolt had some drama and gave Mani some gap, and allowed Mario Roman to pull in closer. Billy charged hard to the finish, got within striking distance of Mani but didn’t have enough to challenge. Letti won by 41-seconds over Bolt, Trystan Hart finished third, edging past Roman, who had a good lead on his teammate Wade Young.
Billy Bolt and Manuel Lettenbitchler were this close in the closing stages battling on the epic hills at the Red Bull Outliers. Photo: Tyler Ravelle / Red Bull Content Pool Breathing clear air off the start proved crucial. Photo: Tyler Ravelle / Red Bull Content Pool
Winners, Billy Bolt, Manuel Lettenbichler, and Trystan Hart at Red Bull Outliers Photo: Mason Mashon / Red Bull Content Pool
Mani Lettenbichler wins the 2023 Red Bull Romaniacs, his fourth victory at the Hard Enduro World Championship round, finishing one hour clear ahead of Trystan Hart second for a KTM one-two. Photo: Mihai Stetcu / Red Bull Content Pool
Manuel Lettenbichler from Red Bull KTM Factory Racing has emerged as the winner of round three of the FIM Hard Enduro World Championship at Red Bull Romaniacs. Lettenbichler showcased an impressive week-long performance, securing his fourth victory at the world’s toughest Hard Enduro Rallye. He finished over one hour ahead of second-placed Trystan Hart, making it a KTM one-two victory. This win also marks Lettenbichler’s third consecutive win in the 2023 season.
In the battle for the remaining spots on the podium, FMF KTM Factory Racing’s Trystan Hart claimed a podium finish for the first time, securing second place overall. He became the first Canadian rider to achieve this feat. ECONT Bulgaria’s Teodor Kabakchiev secured third place, overtaking Billy Bolt from Husqvarna Factory Racing.
• Manuel Lettenbichler continues his unbeaten run, winning all three races in 2023
• Lettenbichler secures his fourth Red Bull Romaniacs victory
• Trystan Hart and Teodor Kabakchiev join him on the podium
Trystan Hart from FMF KTM FACTORY RACING was one of the few riders who successfully conquered the infamous final hillclimb at the finish, securing second place overall and a one-two finish for KTM. The series now moves to his home round in Canada. Photo: Attila Szabo / Red Bull Content PoolFastest in three of the four checkpoints before the service point, Teodor was on a mission. Clean and fast through the remainder of the day, he won Offroad Day 4 on corrected time and with it earned his place on the podium with third. Photo Red Bull Content PoolThere was a big fight for third place between Billy Bolt, starting with a four minutes advantage over Teo Kabachiev. After two very solid days where he went 1-2 on the daily classification, Kabakchiev had closed right in on Bolt who admitted he’d “hit the wall” during day three. Photo: Mihai Stetcu / Red Bull Content PoolSherco Factory rider Wade Young finished fifth overall, one hour and forty-six minutes behind Lettenbichler’s pace. Photo: Attila Szabo / Red Bull Content PoolMario Roman had mechanical issues on day one and two but finished strong with third-place finishes on day three and four, securing seventh place overall. Photo: Mihai Stetcu / Red Bull Content PoolGraham Jarvis, despite his damaged machine, managed to climb one of the brutal hills at the Romaniacs. The experienced rider finished eighth overall. Photo: (Attila Szabo / Red Bull Content Pool
German Manuel Lettenbichler won his second Red Bull Erzbergrodeo in a row on Sunday, making him the seventh person in 27 editions of the race to become a multiple winner. The 25-year-old trailed Great Britain’s Billy Bolt for much of the race, before a decisive pass in the latter stages sealed victory with Canadian Trystan Hart third for the second successive year. Here is all you need to know:
Manuel Lettenbichler racing through the prologue course at Erzberg rodeo on 10th June, 2023 // Sam Strauss / Red Bull Content Pool
– Reigning FIM Hard Enduro world champion Lettenbichler overcame 500 competitors and a mountain referred to as the ‘Iron Giant’ to win Austria’s iconic race in two hours and 31 minutes. Once in the lead, Lettenbichler put on a masterclass to beat his closest challenger Bolt by 11 minutes. Of 500 starters, 16 managed to finish the course containing 27 checkpoints across varied terrain within the four-hour race time limit.
– Held in the Austrian mining town of Eisenerz and first launched in 1995, the Red Bull Erzbergrodeo is the most revered race in the FIM Hard Enduro World Championship. It takes place around the gravity defying Erzberg mountain, a functioning mine producing more than three million tons of iron ore per year. At each edition of the race, a mix of professionals and amateurs take part.
– Lettenbichler paced himself early in the race, trailing eventual third-place finisher Hart before taking the lead. Soon after he conceded first to a hard-charging Bolt, who had crashed at the beginning of the race and was on a mission to try and win the famed event for the first time.
– After one hour and 17 minutes chasing Bolt, Lettenbichler snatched the lead back at checkpoint 22 of 27. From there he rode off into the distance to not only win the race for a second time, but also secure wins at the first two stops of the 2023 FIM Hard Enduro World Championship.
– Lettenbichler said: “I’m speechless that I had such a big gap at the end. I don’t really believe it. I had a really good start and then Billy caught and passed me, and I tried to stay with him, but I couldn’t. He pulled a gap, so I tried to save some energy. When I could see him again, I decided to push and I would say he was pretty tired. Then I just rode a really good line to pass him. This race is such a crazy motorbike festival and everyone in the world just comes and wants to do this challenge and finish this race. It’s super unique. It feels amazing to win a second time in a row.”
– Despite seeing victory dissipate before his eyes, Briton Bolt managed to record his best finish at Red Bull Erzbergrodeo, despite a litany of drama which only became apparent after the race.
– Bolt, 25, said: “That was my worst ever start and then the next 10 minutes was a blur, and I knew I needed to pass as many people as possible before the course got technical. I bent the front disc on my bike in the crash. I also dented my exhaust pretty badly. I’ve had a fair bit of drama, all self-induced. When Mani passed me, I thought I would struggle to keep up with him. I didn’t take it easy, I just made sure I could get home in second. But all things considered, I am very, very happy.”
– Hart, who has two podiums in three attempts, said: “Back-to-back podiums, lots of people would be happy but, to be honest, I’m not super happy. I put myself in a really good position, I was leading, which I didn’t really expect and then I just got tight and made a lot of mistakes in the first hour. To get the holeshot and then make a lot of mistakes like that is kind of heartbreaking. I was right where I needed to be with Billy and Mani, and then kind of threw it all away.”
– Red Bull Erzbergrodeo marked round two of the 2023 FIM Hard Enduro World Championship, however, only a small portion were elite professionals chasing the title, the rest being amateurs. The prologue narrowed 1,300 entrants to 500 qualifiers for the start of Sunday’s main race, and the predictably brutal course was mastered by just 16 riders.
– The best placed local was Austrian Michael Walkner, cousin of 2018 Dakar Rally champion Matthias Walkner, who finished seventh. Compatriot Marcel Hirscher – a multiple times gold medallist at the Olympics and World Championships in Alpine Skiing made his second start. The skier turned motorcycle racer managed to make it to checkpoint 19, an improvement on 2022 when his race ended at checkpoint 17.
Participants at Erzberg rodeo on 11th June, 2023 // Sam Strauss / Red Bull Content Pool
– The FIM Hard Enduro World Championship now moves to Romania for Red Bull Romaniacs from July 25-29.
2023 Red Bull Erzbergrodeo finishers 1. Manuel Lettenbichler (Germany) 2:31:15 2. Billy Bolt (Great Britain) 2:42:15 3. Trystan Hart (Canada) 2:57:09 4. Jonny Walker (Great Britain) 2:59:30 5. Wade Young (South Africa) 3:04:21 6. Graham Jarvis (Great Britain) 3:13:55 7. Michael Walkner (Austria) 3:22:18 8. Alfredo Gomez (Spain) 3:24:30 9. Teodor Kabakchiev (Bulgaria) 3:25:00 10. Cody Webb (USA) 3:29:09 11. Matthew Green (South Africa) 3:31:45 12. Sonny Goggia (Italy) 3:49:21 13. Dominik Olszowy (Poland) 3:51:59 14. Jack Price (Great Britain) 3:52:08 15. Mitch Brightmore (Great Britain) 3:58:39 16. Will Hoare (Great Britain) 3:59:13
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