Forza Orza: Brightmore works his magic in the prologue – Billy Bolt makes his return

Following the US round at the Silver Kings, where Mitch Brightmore celebrated his first World Championship victory, the Briton picked up exactly where he left off in the far north. On the circuit laid out by track manager Mike Skinner around the Grönklitt ski resort near Orsa – some 300 km north-west of Stockholm – the X-Grip-GASGASrider set the benchmark in Thursday’s prologue with a time of 4:36.99 mins. James Moore (AG Racing Beta) finished second with a time of 4:40.40 minutes, whilst his younger brother Ashton Brightmore (X-Grip GASGAS) rounded off the family duo’s strong performance with a time of 4:42.50 minutes.

The most dramatic moment came courtesy of Sweden’s Eddie Karlsson. Riding in front of a home crowd, the Stark rider had everything going for him, but went down in the second run – instead of a potential top time, he ended up with a time of 5:46.32 minutes. As the fastest lap in the prologue counts, his first attempt (4:44.38 mins) was enough to secure him fourth place. Lurking right behind him was World Championship leader Manuel Lettenbichler (Red Bull KTM), who deliberately took a controlled approach in 4:47.98 minutes and finished fifth. Teodor Kabakchiev (Sherco), the returning Billy Bolt and Mario Román followed in sixth to eighth place.

Prolog-Podium: Mitch Brightmore, James Moore und Ashton Brightmore

Foto: HEWC/Macphtos

Then, on Friday evening, came the big comeback: Billy Bolt (Husqvarna Factory Racing) won the one-hour sprint over five laps and, some four months after his injury, celebrated his first podium finish – and did so as the winner. After 1:01:15.0 hours, the Briton had a 36-second lead over Manuel Lettenbichler, who secured vital World Championship points by finishing second. Ashton Brightmore completed the podium in third place, ahead of his brother Mitch Brightmore. Eddie Karlsson finished sixth this time, followed by Mario Román (MR74 Racing), Thomas Scales (AG Racing), Teodor Kabakchiev and Lorenzo Gandola (Sherco) – all ten of the top finishers completed the full distance. Alfredo Gómez did not finish, having crashed in a section bearing a slight resemblance to ‘Carl’s Diner’ at the Red Bull Erzbergrodeo, sustaining an injury in the process.

Mitch Brightmore im Prolog

Foto: HEWC/Macphtos

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The title will be decided in Saturday’s main race: the course, deliberately designed to be spectator-friendly by organiser Glenn Olsson (Kong Events) and course designer Skinner, will host the two-hour main race plus a final lap. Afterwards, the Hard Enduro World Championship moves on to Italy, where the Abestone Hard Enduro in Abetone is scheduled to take place from 4 to 6 September.

Sprint-Podium: Billy Bolt, Manuel Lettenbichler und Ashton Brightmore

Foto: HEWC/Macphtos

Prologue results, Forza Orza (Top 10):

Gold Sprint results, Forza Orza (Top 10):