Billy Bolt Secures Victory At Abestone

Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Billy Bolt has claimed a memorable win at the Abestone Hard Enduro in Italy, for Round 3 of the 2025 FIM Hard Enduro World Championship. Dominating the two-day event on the TE300, Bolt secured his first victory. Following his runner-up result at the prestigious Red Bull Romaniacs to winning the Red Bull Tyne Ride in his hometown of Newcastle in the United Kingdom, Bolt arrived at the Italian hard enduro in Tuscany brimming with confidence and eager to fight for the top step of the podium.

Across the two days of racing, Bolt looked comfortable in the tough mountainous terrain and was determined not to settle for anything less than victory. With the Abestone Hard Enduro kicking things off with a one-hour hard enduro race on Saturday, Bolt was immediately at his best and led his way through a course filled with rocky river beds, steep slippery climbs, and fast open mountain sections.

With a comfortable lead, Bolt quickly mastered the 500-metre X-Loop, staged within the ski resort town of Abetone, and took the win on Saturday. Securing the three championship points on offer, it also earned him pole position for Sunday’s main event.

With a similar format to Saturday, Sunday’s Gold Class Final would be two hours long before finishing off on the X-Loop once again. A solid start saw Bolt claim an early lead in the main event, out front and out of trouble, he set about distancing himself from the rest of the field.

After almost managing to do so, Bolt came head-to-head with championship leader Manuel Lettenbichler. With the duo setting a pace no one else could match, they battled back and forth throughout the two hours, arriving wheel-to-wheel at the final X-Loop section. One last big push from Bolt saw him get the better of Lettenbichler at a critical moment, and ultimately provided him with the breathing room needed to take a well-deserved victory.

Billy Bolt: 
“It’s been a great weekend. To win Saturday’s race and now win the main race on Sunday is brilliant. I can’t ask for much better than that. I’m really happy. To be honest, all weekend I never felt overly comfortable with the track. But it is the sort of terrain that tends to push you out of your comfort zone a lot. I worked hard and tried to limit mistakes, which really paid off here. In the main race I was charging the whole time. I was doing what I could to stay in front as much as possible. I’m happy to get the win after an amazing battle with Mani.”

Provisional Overall Results: Abestone Hard Enduro, FIM HEWC Round 3

1. Billy Bolt (Husqvarna) 12 laps, 2:18:23.178
2. Manuel Lettenbichler (KTM) 12 laps, 2:18:27.192
3. Mitch Brightmore (GASGAS) 8 laps, 2:14:29.326
4. James Moore (KTM) 7 laps, 2:01:40.134
5. Graham Jarvis (Husqvarna) 7 laps, 2:06:45.056