Lettenbichler claimed his first title as a dad: “That calls for a celebration!”

After five wins in eight World Championship races, two second-place finishes and one third-place finish, KTM star Manuel Lettenbichler had a clear 40-point lead over Mitch Brightmore of the X-GRIP Racing Team (GASGAS) at the end of the 2026 season. SPEEDWEEK.com spoke exclusively to the reigning and newly crowned world champion about the final race and his preparations for the new season.

Congratulations on your fifth title in a row. What does this success mean to you? “Thank you! After the Roof of Africa, I’d built up a points lead relatively early on, so I’d practically secured the title by the time we got to Turkey. It’s definitely cool to clinch it now, but of course it’s not the same feeling as when you win your first one. That’s actually what you should be celebrating – not that you’ve secured a fifth title, but that you’ve won your first world championship title as a dad.”

Mario Roman was really strong at Hixpania. Did you ride with a knife between your teeth, or did you take it a bit easier knowing the title was in the bag? “Mario rode really strongly. No, I definitely wanted to give it my all again and put in a good race. It just wasn’t quite enough against Mario – he rode really, really well and I gave it my all to try and overtake him. But he was once again clearly better than the rest. We built up a massive lead over the others and then battled and pushed right to the finish line.”

How do you rate Hixpania compared to the other races in the World Championship? “Hixpania was a really good event. There were more spectators there again, and everything ran smoothly. And especially after what happened last year , it was nice to see that the organiser was very open and willing to work with the riders. The track was much better this year – more open, with more opportunities to overtake.”

Which other hard enduro races will you be competing in this year? “Nothing’s planned at the moment. We’ll be starting testing for next year again in a few weeks, and there’ll be quite a few technical changes as well. We’ll make sure we’re fit and technically prepared for next year. That’s the focus for the bike as we prepare for 2027. That’s why we’re already raring to go again.”

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Will you be competing in the SuperEnduro World Championship? “I can’t give a definitive answer yet, but at the moment it doesn’t look likely. And that’s just as well, because it means we can prepare for next year’s Hard Enduro season in peace. We’ll be investing a lot of time in developing the bike and, consequently, in testing.”

Final standings, 2026 Hard Enduro World Championship: