MANI WINS ROMANICS

How good is Manuel Lettenbichler?! The guy never ceases to amaze us. The last time we heard from ‘Mani’ – back in mid-June, just after he racked up a hat-trick of wins at the infamous Erzbergrodeo – he shared news about being sidelined from Round 3 of the FIM Hard Enduro World Championship (HEWC) after buggering his knee in a training mishap and having to undergo surgery. Next thing you know, the 26-year-old German is back on the bike, back in the game, and back to his winning ways. This time around, the reigning HEWC champ has smoked everybody at the 2024 Red Bull Romaniacs (Round 4 of the HEWC). Dude barely skipped a beat, with the Romaniacs win allowing him to reclaim the lead in the HEWC’s points standings. 

Here’s the Red Bull Factory Racing team’s PR, reflecting on Mani’s victorious return to racing and fifth Romaniacs win!…

Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Manuel Lettenbichler has won the 2024 Red Bull Romaniacs, round four of the FIM Hard Enduro World Championship. After seizing the lead on Offroad Day 1, the KTM 300 EXC racer maintained his sizeable advantage for the remainder of the event to take the overall win by over 33 minutes. The victory marks the German’s third win of the 2024 Hard Enduro season, after missing round three due to injury.

Red Bull Romaniacs is widely regarded as the world’s toughest hard enduro rally, and the 2024 edition lived up to that billing. Competitors faced an intense city prologue followed by four grueling days of offroad racing in the mountains close to the home city of Sibiu, totaling over 23 hours of riding.

Kicking off his return to competition with Tuesday’s prologue, Lettenbichler made a strong start to the race, but a small mistake on the opening straight left the German playing catch-up. In placing third on the tight and technical SuperEnduro-style course, Mani was awarded the unenviable task of leading out the field on Wednesday’s Offroad Day 1.

First on the road into the opening full day of racing, Mani put on a faultless showcase of hard enduro racing. Navigating his way through what many described as the toughest single day in Red Bull Romaniacs history, the reigning Hard Enduro World Champion went fastest on nine of the 11 checkpoints to clock an advantage of over 28 minutes at the finish.

Off-road Day 2 marked the first half of a challenging marathon stage, where riders would part with their teams on Thursday and not reunite until Friday afternoon. Mani fought for the lead all day, swapping places with rival Teodor Kabakchiev. Despite finishing as runner-up to the Bulgarian, Lettenbichler increased his overall race lead to close to 35 minutes.

On Friday’s Off-road Day 3, Mani continued to confidently control the race from the front – maintaining a good rhythm on the varied Romanian terrain while not taking any unnecessary risks. Thanks to the German’s consistency and relentless pace, he completed the day as runner-up and would enter Off-road Day 4 holding a comfortable lead of over 40 minutes.

On Saturday’s final day of racing, just 100 kilometres stood between Mani and his fifth career Red Bull Romaniacs victory. A solid third-place finish on Off-road Day 4 was enough to ensure the German held on to his overall race lead, ultimately claiming victory by 33 minutes and 22 seconds. Confidently sailing up the iconic, final hill climb, Lettenbichler took to the top step of the Red Bull Romaniacs podium to regain his lead in the overall championship standings.

Round five of the 2024 FIM Hard Enduro World Championship heads stateside after a three-week summer break for Red Bull TKO on 22-25 August.

Manuel Lettenbichler: “That was great! I am pretty tired, the last three days I was struggling quite a lot, but the last 20 kilometers before the finish I felt better knowing I was close. You always find that last bit of energy to push to the finish. The other guys have ridden unbelievably well all week, but I’m stoked with my riding and my fifth win in a row! Even though it’s been tough for sure, it feels good to come back from injury and go straight to the top of the podium. We have a little time now to build on my fitness and then it’s back to it at TKO. I’m really looking forward to it.”

Provisional Results – 2024 Red Bull Romaniacs

1. Manuel Lettenbichler (GER), KTM, 23:22:21
2. Teodor Kabakchiev (BGR), Sherco, 23:55:43 +33:22
3. Mario Roman (ESP), Sherco, 23:57:58 +35:37
4. Wade Young (RSA), GASGAS, 24:30:08 +1:07:47
5. Michael Walkner (AUT), GASGAS, 24:48:47 +1:26:26

Provisional standings – FIM Hard Enduro World Championship (after 4 of 7 rounds)

1. Manuel Lettenbichler (GER), KTM, 67 pts
2. Wade Young (RSA), GASGAS, 62 pts
3. Mario Roman (ESP), Sherco, 62 pts
4. Teodor Kabakchiev (BUL), Sherco, 57 pts
5. Mitch Brightmore (GBR), Husqvarna, 50 pts