Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Manuel Lettenbichler delivered an iimpressive comeback ride to finish sixth in the Red Bull Romaniacs after being handed a two-hour time penalty on the Day 2 of the event. Here is all you need to know:
– Lettenbichler came into the multi-day race in Romania sitting second in the FIM Hard Enduro World Championship standings following three wins in a row in Serbia, Austria and Italy.
– Having won this race in both 2021 and 2020 he started as one of the clear favourites for the win and with pre-event title leader Billy Bolt missing due to injury, Lettenbichler also had hopes of takin over the lead of the championship.
– The German started the race in the perfect way by winning the prologue stage in downtown Sibiu, but trouble struck on the first off-road day when his KTM’s clutch developed a problem that he needed outside assistance to fix.
– As a result, he was handed a two-hour time penalty for the help he received, which dropped him to 17th place and ended his hopes of a win.
– After this, Lettenbichler’s race turned into a battle to recover as many positions and world championship points as possible. He did this in impressive fashion, setting the fastest time on Off-Road Day 2 and the final day of competition to ride all the way back to sixth place at the finish.
– The recovery heroics weren’t quite enough for Lettenbichler to lead the FIM Hard Enduro World Championship standings, which is now held by Spain’s Mario Roman, who finished the race in third.
– With Roman on 73 points and Lettenbichler just three back on 70, his title hopes remain very much intact however with three events still to come.
– Taking the win in Romania for an incredible seventh time was Graham Jarvis.
– The British veteran suffered a serious knee injury in this race last year, but was on incredible form all week to win again at the age of 47. The Husqvarna rider led home Bulgarian Teodor Kabakchiev and new championship leader Roman to complete the podium.
– Also racing Red Bull Romaniacs was Dakar Rally legend Matthias Walkner, who took on the Bronze class race aboard his KTM 450 desert racer and impressed everyone by wrestling the big bike to a podium finish in the class with third place.
– The FIM Hard Enduro World Championship continues with round six, Red Bull TKO in the United States on August 13.
Red Bull Romaniacs results:
1. Graham Jarvis (Husqvarna) 21h 5m 40s
2. Teodor Kabakchiev (KTM) 21h 14m 12s
3. Mario Roman (Sherco) 21h 19m 6s
4. Trystan Hart (KTM) 21h 38m 39s
5. Michael Walkner (Gas Gas) 21h 44m 10s
2022 FIM Hard Enduro World Championship Standings (After Round 5)
1. Mario Roman (Sherco) 73pts
2. Manuel Lettenbichler (KTM) 70
3. Billy Bolt (Husqvarna) 62
4. Graham Jarvis (Husqvarna) 60
5. Teodor Kabakchievs (KTM) 52
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