|
enduro
news |
|
|
Red Bull Romaniacs |
|
Jarvis dominates day four, Birch keeps overall lead and Lettenbichler catches up! The rain is not only a constant companion but has become the dominating factor of the Red Bull Romaniacs 2010. The riders started the day from Petrosani in pouring rain and only and out of the initial 21 starters of the pro class only 11 continued the race. Graham Jarvis again in a class of its own Romaniacs mastermind Martin Freinademetz is known for serving tracks that are very tough to deal with in dry conditions. In rainy and wet conditions those tracks turn into challenges which are taking even the best oft he best riders to their very limits. Even though the rece directors took out the famous „Long Walk Up“ due to the permanent rain, there were more than enough cruelties left for the riders, such as the section called „Congo“, which was an immane challenge. Even though the Brit Graham Jarvis dropped out of the race yesterday he once again proved to be the one to beat in the stage today that took the riders back from Petrosani to Sibiu. Jarvis came in 30 minutes ahead of the next rider and it’s hard to imagine what results the quiet Brit could achieve if his bike would be as reliable as his riding skills. The rider currently leading the race, Chris Birch, had bad luck and lost valuable time due to problems with the electrical system. „I’m riding KTM bikes now for 6 years and about 5,000 hours and I never had a single problem with the electrical system on my bikes. Too bad I’ve lost time today because of a little technical problem“, the New Zealander said at the end of an exhausting day. Birch came in about one hour later than Jarvis but keeps the overall lead. Paul Bolton (UK, KTM) and the German Andreas Lettenbichler (BMW) demonstrated one of the principles of Extrem-Enduro: While competing against each other heavily in the race there are sections which cannot be done on your own – at least not fast enough. Bolton started five minutes after „Letti“ and the two riders formed a team once Bolton had reached the factory supported rider from Bavaria. Only four seconds separated the two riders in the finish, Bolton finishing second and Lettenbichler third. Once again Lettenbichler demonstrated an outstanding performance and reduced his overall handicap by 29 minutes, thus putting himself in a better position for the final day tomorrow. PRO-CLASS inofficial and corrected overall standings after day 3: Tomorrow the riders will face the final challenge. The weather forecast predicts rain and riders have to be prepared for another insane track which covers 128km for the Pro class and 110km for the Expert and Hobby classes. Andreas Lettenbichler collects his first stage victory! The second offroad raceday of the 7th edition of the Red Bull Romaniacs started dry and sunny for all riders – the heavy downpoors of the last days had finally stopped, and so the 165 competitors faced more comfortable temperatures and sunny conditions for most of the day. Lettenbichler gives it all, Jarvis quits UK top-rider Graham Jarvis opened todays Pro-Class challenge on board of his Sherco, followed by KTM factory rider Chris Birch (NZL) and German Andreas Lettenbichler on his BMW. While Jarvis headed onto the track quite confident, the dominator of yesterdays muddy battle had to face serious technical problems later on. Like last year, Jarvis’ engine overheated and the quiet and friendly Brit had to park his steed aside the track for today. With Jarvis’ dropping out halfway of the race, it was heavily motivated Chris Birch who took the lead of the Pro-Class. But not for long, as Birch’s KTM started to get technical problems as well. After several water crossings, the 2-time winner of the Roof-of-Africa had to change his spark plug and lost valuable time on Andreas Lettenbichler. While Birch had to maintain his bike, Lettenbichler passed and took the lead. „After I could pass Chris, I’ve found a quite perfect rythm on my bike and could hold my speed until the finish line. I had some navigation problems in the woods before, bute overall I’m really satisfied with my race today.“, said the sympathic Bajuvarian after the race. Due to his respectable stage win Lettenbichler secured a second overall ranking with a 50 minutes margin on Birch after today. British rider Paul Bolton (KTM) placed second on todays stage after making it to the finish 7 minutes behind Lettenbichler. Bolton – renown for his rather weak navigation skills – made no mistake today and advances to the third place in the overall ranking. Joakim Ljunggren, Husaberg factory rider from Sweden, suprised the crowd with an astonishing third place, coming in only 30 minutes behind Lettenbichler. South African’s Jade Gutzeit (KTM) placed a respectable fourth today while Chris Birch crossed the finish line on fifth place: „I had to replace a spark plug because it got wet in these nasty conditions today. It took me quite a while to figure out what the problem was and I am very happy that I was able to take over the lead after this challenging second day at the Red Bull Romaniacs. Considering Letti’s skills the 50 minutes lead is not at all a safe pillow for the forthcoming two days“, Birch said after about 200km of distance in the pro class. Unofficial results PRO-CLASS after day 2: 1. Chris Birch 15.44.55 KTM 2. Andreas Lettenbichler 16.34.39 BMW 3. Paul Bolton 17.05.31 KTM 4. Jade Gutzeit 17.37.21 KTM 5. Lionel Seydoux 18.01.10 KTM 6. Gerhard Forster 19.52.37 BMW 7. Joakim Ljunggren 22.08.24 Husaberg 8. Darryl Curtis 23.27.09 KTM A well balanced mix of gruelties awaits the Pro riders on tomorrows offroad day. After a series of steep up- and downhills the Romaniacs serves its true highlight at the end of the day: The „Long Walk Up“ is an extremely difficult section in the forrest, which in last years edition got Cyril Despres to face his inner demons ... Jarvis dominates today’s battle in the mud! „Never ever give up“ – that’s what last years winner Andreas Lettenbichler had to say when he finally crossed the finish line of the Red Bull Romaniacs first „outdoor“ raceday. Lettenbichler reached the day’s finish more than 2 hours behind stage winner Graham Jarvis (UK, Sherco) and secured a respectable third place on a stage that was regarded as a „little shop of horrors“ by most of the riders. Prologue-winner Chris Birch finished second today and managed to stay close to Jarvis in the results. A mere 30% of the Pro-Class riders could reach the finish line without exceeding the time limit. The heavy downpoors continued today and turned the track into a real nightmare for the competitors. Graham Jarvis sets the record The British Extreme-Enduro expert showed his competition that he’s no stranger to soaking wet terrain and slippery descents. Jarvis won today’s stage with a margin of 40 minutes over Chris Birch (NZL, KTM) – a quite solid pillow for the upcoming days in the Romanian wilderness. „That was surely a tough day at the office, but I’m actually used to conditions like that. I found a good rythm from the start and had a good time with GPS-navigation. I’m pretty satisfied with my race today - I just don’t like the fact that our soccer team had to call it quits at the World Cup today!“, said Graham at his arrival at the stage’s finish. KTM factory rider Chris Birch was all but impressed about Jarvis’ accomplishment: „This stage was maybe the toughest one I’ve ever ridden. I’m happy to have reached the finish only 40 minutes after Graham. He was riding in his own class today – my full respect goes out to him!“ One of the top favorites of the 6th edition of the Red Bull Romaniacs had nothing but bad luck today: Erzbergrodeo „Ironman“ and KTM Extreme-Enduro factory expert Taddy Blazusiak (POL) had to drop out of the race quite too early: „First I’ve lost my way in the early part of the stage. Soon after I was back on track and chasing hard after the leader I lost my front wheel and crashed hard at a gnarly downhill, injuring my shoulder once again. In the end, the pain was just too much to finish the stage, and I have to abandon my first Red Bull Romaniacs.“, said a disappointed Blazusiak after returning to the paddock in Sibiu. The riders of the Expert- and Hobby-Classes didn’t had a better day neither – the extremely tough conditions took their toll on all competitors and served „bigger-than-life challenges“ to the riders. Only one team and one single rider of the Expert Class reached the finish today, while not even one of the Hobby riders made it to the finish line of today’s stage. Chris Birch wins Incity-Prolog! New Zealand’s Chris Birch rewarded himself for the longest journey to the world’s hardest Extreme-Enduro-Rallye with a well deserved victory in the legendary incity prologue. The KTM rider showed an incredible performance surfing the man-made obstacles in the city center of Sibiu (Romania) and secures the pole position for the first race day on Sunday. Graham Jarvis from Great Britain managed to come in second on his Sherco ahead of the Polish four-time Erzbergrodeo champion and rallye rookie Tadeusz “Taddy” Blazusiak on his two-stroke KTM. Romaniacs veteran rider Birch turns into a rain god The pouring rain turned the track of man-made obstacles into a breathtaking challenge - even for well-experienced riders like Paul Bolton (Eurotech-KTM, GBR) and Gerhard Forster (GER/Touratech-BMW). Especially the obstacles made out of wood and rubber tires became slippery as ice - bringing even the top pro riders close to their limits. “Birchy” in the opposite appeared to be rain-proof: Already in the qualifying heats the Kiwi has been leaving his footprint and left no doubt that he is determined to the max to finally win the Red Bull Romaniacs. „After a previous third and a second place at the Red Bull Romaniacs I really want to make it to the very top of the podium this year. The prolog went really well and I did have the bit of luck you need to win a qualifying race like this - given the difficult wet conditions. I mastered the extremely slippery section with the loose wood very well and was able to leave Graham and Taddy behind. Winning the prolog is a big achievement for me since I will be the first to start the real race tomorrow and I will leverage the experience I gained in the past years. The organizers have done a great job in designing a track which was ridable even in these conditions“, Chris Birch said after the race. Graham Jarvis (Sherco, GBR): „I pushed a little too hard right after the start and lost some traction due to the wet conditions. But Taddy made a little mistake so I was able to pass him. The second place is a good result for me to open the real race tomorrow.” The Extreme-Enduro dominator Taddy Blazusiak stated about his third place in the Prolog: „I am always determined to win but in the rain turned the track into a dangerous challenge and I must be happy that I got away with the third place, no injuries and no damage to my bike. This is my first ever Rallye and starting from the third place gives me the opportunity to find my way into this racing style without the pressure to lead the pack.” 2009 winner Andi Lettenbichler (GER/BMW-Husqvarna) was pretty happy about his fourth place, too: „Right at the beginning I got stuck in a wood section. However, I was able to pass a lot of riders after this mistake and finally came in fourth. From the previous year I know that this starting number is not bad at all and I will give all I have in order to defend my title.“ Prolog as a crowd magnet The heavy rain is expected to tunr the overall conditions for all riders into a true nightmare within the upcoming four days – no matter which class each rider is in. But this is exactly the reason why year after year more riders show up in Sibiu: To face this extraordinary challenge to ride against the best of the best in the most difficult terrain on the face of this planet. Follow the event live on the web through our live-blogging service - see
the blinking dots racing on the map and read what our elite field of embedded
journalists report live from the track!
The battle for the best starting position is over at the Red Bull Romaniacs Rallye and it’s been Spain’s Xavier Galindo-Arbones (KTM) to defeat title defender Graham Jarvis (GBR/Sherco) and last year’s runner-up, German BMW Rider Gerhard Forster. In front of 9.000 fanatic spectators in downtown Sibiu/Hermannstadt, the Spaniard left a very strong first impression at his first ever attempt. Back in the founding days of Red Bull Romaniacs in 2004, this prologue over man-made obstacles has been invented by organizer Martin Freinademetz, building Chief Andy Fazekas and his crew from the local Motorcycle Club, Crazy Bike Sibiu. Between then and now, lots of look-alike events and competitions have been following this success-story, never really matching the original one, traditionally held here. “This year we tried a very new format, best to be compared with Snowboard-Boardercross, and after last year’s wet weather and the troubles for the riders on the wet wooden obstacles, this year we’ve built the course in a more safe way, no matter what weather. Even with rain, it would hold up and offer enough grip, also for the hobby-, and experts-classes”, says building-chief Andy Fazekas. A very coincidental accident even added some “pyrotechnical effects” to this year’s edition, when Expert-Team rider George KINONAS’ (GRE) bike went up in flames during the race after a slight crash over one obstacle. Luckily and thanks to the safety-precautions, the burning bike (and partly - for a second - even the burning rider) have been extinguished by the rescue and safety personnel within some seconds. After a general overhaul of some hours, the bike has been renovated and is now ready to charge tomorrow’s first stage – and so is the rider! The respect of all riders towards this year’s course was given already before that and the adrenalin was flowing in the pre-start area before qualification, especially within the first-timers. “This looks way more gnarly than anything called Enduro-Cross which we have in the USA”, stated debut pro-rider and Dirtbike-Legend Jimmy Lewis (Husaberg). Gerhard Forster, today third on the podium and last year’s unfortunate runner-up is now happy to have two riders of the format of Jarvis and Galindo-Arbones in front of him, releasing him from the pressure of navigating the others through the trails as he had to in 2008. “I hope that there will be a lot of navigation to be done tomorrow morning by the two in front of me, so I can catch up with them and make up some time from the start-interval”, stated the German who appears to be riding with the precision of a Swiss watch. 2008 title defender and runner-up Graham Jarvis also was not too disappointed about his second place in the prologue: “I am glad it all worked well today, the bike and myself unharmed. I look forward to the days in the mountains to come, because I think that’s where the decision will take place.” Xavier Galindo-Arbones, only known to Hard-Enduro insiders from past participations in the World Enduro Championships and in selected indoor Enduros, can count on a solid trial-riding background which might get him far in the Red Bull Romaniacs Rallye: “Having those two experienced riders in my back is not a perfect scenario, but I’ll try my best to keep them off my back”, he stated after the race with a huge smile upon his face. Tomorrow, Sunday, August 16, the start is scheduled for 06:00 in the morning and due to the starting-intervals for the top-pros, the heat will be on, immediately. So catching up with the person in front of means having made up time in the overall results. Most probable, some of the lower ranked pros and well known names even calculated on this and finished no higher than in the higher mid-field. With our superb feature of a live-tracking and blogging service, invented by Red Bull Romaniacs in 2008, the entire race action of all days to come will be brought to anyone out there through our website www.redbullromaniacs.com from tomorrow morning on. We have the news, we have the hottest pictures, but most of all, we have our live-tracking: By clicking onto the live-tracking button on the start-site, users will enjoy real time racing by being able to follow the riders as blinking dots on a virtual map, which will be constantly fed by the signals of our live-tracking safety GPS devices, carried by every rider. In addition, a superb crew of field journalists (called “embedded journos” by CNN;-)) will be blogging texts and pictures from right out of the woods and provide even deeper insights on what’s going on in Vlad Dracula’s backyard.
After 4 grueling days, Great Britain's Graham Jarvis has won the 5th Red Bull Romaniacs at his first attempt. The 33 year old trial specialist rode a Sherco & he was the first rider to win the event on a 4 stroke. Germany's GPS master Gerhard Forster navigated his way through the Romanian wilderness to finished second overall & New Zealander Chris Birch was 3rd. Dutchman Frans Verhoeven was dogged by bad luck in the early stages but won the final stage. The last day was a shorter 117 kilometres course but no less intense than the previous days. All the riders were pleased to cross the finishing line on the roof of the dictator Ceaucescu unfinished mansion. Speaking at the end Graham Jarvis said “It was beginner’s luck that made me finish first! Throughout the whole race I concentrated on not making any big mistakes, as a trial specialist I had to ride tactically and smart. The last days were even harder than I expected but great fun also. I’d never expected to finish first!" Day
3 With the weather & visibility closing in, the scene was set for Gerhard Forster - the GPS machine - to make the break that would get him away from his shadows but the fates were typing away at 2.200m to re-write the script. By the time Gerhard arrived at the service point he had a smashed gear box & was only using 1st gear. He had dropped minutes on Verhoeven, Birch and Jarvis however by Checkpoint 4 the BMW rider had clawed his way back into second place. The fate also turned their attention to Frans Verhoeven who - not long after leaving the service point in second place - was forced to retire due to a technical problem. Graham Jarvis enlarge his lead over Forster 9:32 minutes. Results Day
2 The second day started with a real taste of autumn. Cold, foggy & wet. Prologue winner Paul Bolton activated his rescue system at 10.00am when a crash aggravated the knee injury that has dogged him this season. New Zealander Chris Birch had the best day finishing first ahead of Germany's Gerhard Forster. Forster has earned the nickname of the “GPS machine” due to his uncanny ability to navigate. Graham Jarvis was 3rd but maintained his overall lead with a 42 second. German Jürgen Dörr in the Expert single class crashed heavily in the same place as Paul Bolton & smashed his throttle. As Paul had retired he lent Jürgen his throttle so he could continue. The weather for tomorrow's third stage promises to be poor with fog & the possibility of snowfall at 2,200m. Results
Day
1 The first full day of the 5th Red Bull Romaniacs started 07.30am in the morning with a 180 kilometers lap. The climbs were technical and challenging. At the service point after almost five hours of riding the first to arrive were more than one hour later than expected. UK rider Graham Jarvis took the overall lead ahead of German rider Gerhard Forster. Chris Birch from New Zealand was 3rd. The 3 riders wisely decided to navigate the course together. Prologue winner Paul Bolton was one of the riders who struggled with the navigation. He missed a check point & he was penalised. Sepp Hasenauer leads the Experts from Wales' Craig Bounds. Day 1 results Prologue The 5th edition of the Red Bull Romaniacs kicked off in the main boulevard of Sibiu on Saturday 13th Sept at the start of 5 days of one of the toughest Enduros in the World. The course designers had devised 15 different obstacles & the steady rain gave the tree trunks, walls & wooden ramps an extra slick coating that tested the international field of 213 riders to the limit. Despite a lay off during the Summer with a broke leg, Britain's Paul Bolton took the lead from Germany's Gerhard Forster. Paul took 3rd at Erzberg this year & relishes the trialsy going. He completed an incredible 8 laps - 2 more than 2nd placed Forster. Greg Evans (right) was a schoolboy MX champion but he has worked hard on his trials skills & his efforts have paid off as he took 3rd ahead of fellow Brit trials champion Graham Jarvis in 4th. Greg like Paul is also recovering from a broke leg. He got a last minute call to take Tom Sagar's entry. Tom's hand has not recovered & he needs to rest it after the Greece 6 Days. Wales' Craig Bounds won the Expert singles class. With 44 entries, British riders constitute the biggest national contingent & 6 Brits finished in the top ten. Prologue Results
THIRD VICTORY FOR CYRIL DESPRES Final Day: 4th Red Bull Romaniacs Hard Enduro Rally, 17 – 21 June 2007 After 2004 and 2005 it is again Cyril Despres from France who wins the Red Bull Romaniacs Hard Enduro Rallye in 2007, gaining his third victory in the fourth edition of the rally. German Privateer Gerhard Forster finishes second overall ahead of the New Zealander Chris Birch. Despres won the last special over 190km ahead of Chris Birch and Gerhard Forster. Only 30 minutes after the start Michel Gau (FRA) broke his right arm in a crash and could not continue the last special. The first man early away this Thursday morning was Michel Gau. The Frenchman had retaken the overall lead from Cyril Despres yesterday. As it was quite probable that these two riders fought it out, both of them were motivated to give their best on the last and decisive day of the fourth Red Bull Romaniacs Hard Enduro Rally. However, Michel Gau had the bad luck on his side and crashed; only 30 minutes after the start he slipped on a piece of wood made him fall off the bike and against a tree. His right arm was broken and he was not able to continue the race. Cyril Despres immediately stopped and stayed with him until the first aid arrived. 20 minutes later he continued the race without knowing how many riders had already passed. In the mean time 23-year old Chris Birch (NZL) did well, made no mistakes and was the first to finish the last special stage. Crossing the finish line second Cyril Despres got a time credit for staying with Michel Gau and - besides the overall victory – is today’s winner. Gerhard Forster, Privateer from Germany, completes the stage’s podium and claims the second overall position. “The hardest day of all four off-road stages”, the riders agreed unanimously after they had successfully and literally taken the last steps to the finish high above Sibiu. The see-saw right at the beginning, steep uphills, an almost never-ending and slippery downhill and a merciless last ascent to the day’s and overall finish – just to mention a few of today’s specialities the remaining 78 participates had to deal with. Results Day 5, 21 June 2007 Professionals 1. Cyril Despres FRA 2. Chris Birch NZL 3. Gerhard Forster GER
|
Spanish
Hard-Enduro rookie wins Red Bull Romaniacs Rallye prologue!
