X-GRIP team boss Benjamin Diesel: “Hard enduro isn’t an indoor sport!”

Mitch Brightmore won his first World Championship round of the season at the Silver Kings in the USA, where he also secured an impressive victory over KTM star Manuel Lettenbichler. The 23-year-old Briton has been putting in impressive performances this season on his GASGAS for the X-GRIP team and, with one race remaining, sits second in the World Championship standings behind Lettenbichler. Theoretically, he even has a chance of winning the title – but to do so, he would need to score maximum points at the Hixpania round in Spain whilst Lettenbichler fails to score any. His brother Ashton, who is just 20 years old, is currently in fourth place overall and second in the junior standings. Following the turbulent race at the Sea to Sky in Turkey, SPEEDWEEK.com spoke exclusively to Benjamin Diesel, who heads up the ‘X-GRIP GASGAS Racing Team’.

Mitch and Ashton have been performing strongly almost throughout the Hard Enduro World Championship. How do you view their development? I first saw the lads riding live four years ago, when I was competing in the Xross in Serbia myself. Even back then, I was impressed by their technique. Ashton, in particular, was still just a little lad at the time, but the way the two of them handled the motorbikes was simply incredible. It was immediately clear to me: they’ve got what it takes to achieve something. We already had a team back then and were competing internationally to some extent, but we wanted to take our products to the next level. So, exactly two years ago at the Sea to Sky, I had the idea of signing them up and turning them into full-time professionals. Today they’re under contract with us, and their job is motorcycling. Naturally, this has led to them developing accordingly, and they’re still a long way from reaching their full potential.

At the Silver Kings, Manuel told Mitch that he’d be next. A mark of distinction. Do you see it that way too? I completely understand Manuel. He’s been riding at a level that’s simply incredible for ten years now. His titles speak for themselves. It’s about time that young riders came through. Mitch has finished his physical development and can now realise his full potential. But we mustn’t forget that Ashton is a few years younger and was out with injury for almost a year. The two of them are sure to go head-to-head in the coming years. But yes, ‘a mark of distinction’ sums it up quite well when you hear something like that from someone of Manuel Lettenbichler’s calibre.

There were time penalties and disqualifications at the Roof of Africa and also at the Sea to Sky. How would you sum up your view of the incidents in a few words? If I’m honest, the whole thing is a bit odd. In South Africa, Mitch, who would have won the prologue, received a penalty, even though we’d already set off 30 seconds too late. But well, rules are rules – that was made clear to us there.

At the Sea to Sky, giving Manuel a ten-minute penalty because water was poured onto his brake disc from outside at the refuelling point – where no servicing was permitted – doesn’t sit well with me at all. It had absolutely no impact on the result, none whatsoever.

The penalty for Mario Román is open to debate. The motorbike was started at the refuelling point. That happened in the heat of the moment and will certainly not happen to him again. However, one could argue that safety was not taken into account as a result.

As for Teodor Kabakchiev: Teo rode an incredible race and was definitely in contention for the win. In this instance, he is the one who has suffered the most, and I really do feel sorry for him. But if decisions regarding which penalties to impose on the other riders were made strictly in accordance with the regulations – and in my opinion, some of those were far too harsh – then the regulations must also be applied to Teo and he must be penalised accordingly. The FIM regulations clearly state that outside assistance in such a case results in disqualification, much to his chagrin. The FIM has thus clearly demonstrated that it intends to stick to the rules.

Finally, I must say one thing on the subject of penalties: the entire list of penalties ought to be reconsidered a little. We’re not playing an indoor sport like basketball, where everything is always the same under standardised conditions. We ride outdoors in the countryside, and that’s exactly how the regulations must be interpreted.

How do you view the Hard Enduro World Ranking from your perspective as a team manager? I think the idea behind the Hard Enduro World Ranking is fundamentally a good one. Anyone competing in the major races has the chance to top the ranking in a single season without having to enter lots of smaller races. At the same time, however, you can also rack up a decent number of points by competing in smaller races. So the basic concept is very good. It’s just that it’s sometimes difficult to reconcile with the current official FIM Hard Enduro World Championship, and that’s exactly where I see the greatest potential.

What goals have you set yourselves for 2027 with the ‘X-GRIP GASGAS Racing Team’? For 2027, our focus is very clearly on the SuperEnduro World Championship; that’s where we want to become world champions. Mitch finished third this year and celebrated his first victory at the final race in France. The year before, Ash was third in the overall standings. Next season, we want to really give Billy Bolt a run for his money. The same goes for outdoor racing: Mitch was third last year and is still in the running for the runner-up title. Next year, there can really only be an improvement, and we’re putting everything into that.

Mitch (links) und Ashton Brightmore mit X-GRIP-Teamchef Benjamin Diesel

Foto: fskugi

2026 Hard Enduro World Championship – Overall standings after Round 7 (Sea to Sky):