Red Bull Romaniacs, Prologue: Kabakchiev put Lettenbichler in his place

The 23rd edition of the legendary Red Bull Romaniacs pushed the elite of hard enduro sport to their limits right from the prologue in Sibiu. Founded in the 12th century by German settlers, Hermannstadt was renamed Sibiu in 1919 following the annexation of Transylvania by Romania. Just as Transylvania lies at the heart of Romania, so too does the Red Bull Romaniacs prologue take place right in the centre of Sibiu. And year after year, Andy Fazekas’s team outdoes itself in the elaborate design of the man-made obstacles constructed from wood, stone, water, concrete and metal. The route is as spectacular as it is challenging: even the world’s elite riders struggle there and are careful to make no mistakes – or as few as possible – in order to cross the finish line with a good placing and without injury to rider or damage to equipment.

In the final, Bulgaria’s Teo Kabakchiev edged out the young Briton Mitch Brightmore by a mere half a second. Manuel Lettenbichler finished third – the prologue isn’t necessarily his strong point, and avoiding costly mistakes and injuries is a key consideration for everyone.

In the Adventure Ultimate class, the Spaniard Mario Roman, riding his CF Moto MT450, claimed victory somewhat surprisingly ahead of his compatriot Pol Tarrés on the Yamaha Ténéré 700. Pol had made a mistake which he was unable to make up for on a course that is particularly gruelling for heavy adventure bikes. Third place went to the Austrian Dieter Rudolf on a KTM 890R.

It is worth noting that the Romaniacs, now in their 23rd edition, have significantly expanded their range of classes. Riders were able to enter nine different categories: alongside the traditional Gold, Silver, Bronze, Iron and Atom classes, there are now three different tiers for adventure bikes: Adventure Ultimate, Adventure Core and Adventure Lite. In addition, the ‘eMoto Hobby’ class has been introduced.

Lettenbichler is the favourite

Wednesday (29 July) marks the start of the first of four days of off-road racing. Kabakchiev is traditionally very fast in the Hard Enduro Rally format. As Billy Bolt is still recovering from his injury and will not be on the starting grid, Mario Roman will be competing in the Adventure Ultimate class, Wade Young is also out due to injury, and legend Graham Jarvis will be riding the Jarv-E, it is expected that the three riders on the prologue podium will also be battling for the top places during the off-road race days. Mitch Brightmore capped off his excellent form with victory at the Silver Kings, where he finished ahead of Lettenbichler and fellow brand rider Trystan Hart. Over the full distance, however, Lettenbichler is the clear favourite, provided he doesn’t suffer an injury or encounter technical problems.

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Red Bull Romaniacs results, Prologue: