World Enduro Super Series 2018 - Erzbergrodeo Red Bull Hare Scramble (AUT) – Best of Action
World Enduro Super Series 2018 - Erzbergrodeo Red Bull Hare Scramble (AUT) – Best of Action
Erzbergrodeo Red Bull Hare Scramble once again lived up to its reputation as the toughest Xtreme Enduro race in the world on Sunday, June 3, 2018. The battle against the iron mountain took even the world’s best riders to their limits. Only 23 athletes reached the finish within the time limit of four hours. Briton Graham Jarvis raced to victory in a record time of 2 hours and 6 minutes after an extremely exciting race, closely followed by Jonny Walker (GBR) and Manuel Lettenbichler (GER). Austrian Dieter Rudolf finished the race with an outstanding 11th place.
Erzbergrodeo went off successfully on the Erzberg for the 24th time. The motorcycle spectacle, which is famous far beyond the borders of Europe, provided stunning bike action for four days. Sunday saw the climax of the event with the Erzbergrodeo Red Bull Hare Scramble, which is also part of the new World Enduro Super Series (WESS) since this year. To warm up, Dakar Rally heroes Matthias Walkner, Laia Sanz and 13-time Dakar winner Stéphane Peterhansel thrilled the crowd at the starting area with a breathtaking show run. At 2.30 pm, organizer Karl Katoch waved the starting flag for the fastest 500 out of originally 1,700 participants. Despite perfect weather, Erzberg once again showed its tough side. Extremely steep ramps, huge boulder fields and slippery forest passages made the infamous track a tough test for the world’s best Enduro riders. Numerous exhausting and seemingly insurmountable sections of the track, such as the notorious Machine, Badewanne (“Bathtub”), Carl’s Dinner, Dynamite, and the dreaded Grüne Hölle (“Green Hell”), demanded everything from the participants and brought many of them to their physical and mental limits.
From the start, the notorious Erzbergrodeo Red Bull Hare Scramble went straight to business. Especially the first gravel climbs took their toll. Many of the contestants already had problems here and nearly dropped out of the race. 5-time Erzberg winner and title contender Taddy Blazusiak (POL) mastered this section perfectly and led the high-carat field ahead of Jonny Walker (GBR), Billy Bolt (GBR) and Manuel Lettenbichler (GER). But suddenly the young German talent Lettenbichler took the lead and kept it until after Carl's Dinner. Until here, he was able to confidently keep Bolt, Walker and Jarvis at bay, with Bolt riding directly behind him. Thrilling moments followed at Green Hell, where Lettenbichler and Bolt both had difficulties but helped each other out. Together, they managed to push Lettenbichler’s bike out of this challenging section of the track. Lettenbichler also proved sportsmanship and gave up his leadership to help Bolt at Green Hell. Bolt continued to struggle but eventually managed to conquer Green Hell together with Wade Young. Meanwhile, Graham Jarvis had taken the lead and confidently raced to victory. The Briton clinched his 4th Erzbergrodeo Red Bull Hare Scramble title with an incredible time of 2:05:59 and was awarded the winner’s flag by Karl Katoch. 41 seconds behind him, 3-time Red Bull Hare Scramble winner Jonny Walker reached the finish at Erzbergrodeoarena. Manuel Lettenbichler followed in 3rd place. Celebrated by the spectators, the German was extremely happy about his podium finish after his incredible race. Wade Young (RSA) took 4th place.
Results
1. Graham Jarvis (GBR) 02:05:59
2. Jonny Walker (GBR) +00:00:41
3. Manuel Lettenbichler (GER) +00:03:03
4. Wade Young (RSA) +00:15:45
5. Billy Bolt (GBR) +00:24:04
Erzbergrodeo went off successfully on the Erzberg for the 24th time. The motorcycle spectacle, which is famous far beyond the borders of Europe, provided stunning bike action for four days. Sunday saw the climax of the event with the Erzbergrodeo Red Bull Hare Scramble, which is also part of the new World Enduro Super Series (WESS) since this year. To warm up, Dakar Rally heroes Matthias Walkner, Laia Sanz and 13-time Dakar winner Stéphane Peterhansel thrilled the crowd at the starting area with a breathtaking show run. At 2.30 pm, organizer Karl Katoch waved the starting flag for the fastest 500 out of originally 1,700 participants. Despite perfect weather, Erzberg once again showed its tough side. Extremely steep ramps, huge boulder fields and slippery forest passages made the infamous track a tough test for the world’s best Enduro riders. Numerous exhausting and seemingly insurmountable sections of the track, such as the notorious Machine, Badewanne (“Bathtub”), Carl’s Dinner, Dynamite, and the dreaded Grüne Hölle (“Green Hell”), demanded everything from the participants and brought many of them to their physical and mental limits.
From the start, the notorious Erzbergrodeo Red Bull Hare Scramble went straight to business. Especially the first gravel climbs took their toll. Many of the contestants already had problems here and nearly dropped out of the race. 5-time Erzberg winner and title contender Taddy Blazusiak (POL) mastered this section perfectly and led the high-carat field ahead of Jonny Walker (GBR), Billy Bolt (GBR) and Manuel Lettenbichler (GER). But suddenly the young German talent Lettenbichler took the lead and kept it until after Carl's Dinner. Until here, he was able to confidently keep Bolt, Walker and Jarvis at bay, with Bolt riding directly behind him. Thrilling moments followed at Green Hell, where Lettenbichler and Bolt both had difficulties but helped each other out. Together, they managed to push Lettenbichler’s bike out of this challenging section of the track. Lettenbichler also proved sportsmanship and gave up his leadership to help Bolt at Green Hell. Bolt continued to struggle but eventually managed to conquer Green Hell together with Wade Young. Meanwhile, Graham Jarvis had taken the lead and confidently raced to victory. The Briton clinched his 4th Erzbergrodeo Red Bull Hare Scramble title with an incredible time of 2:05:59 and was awarded the winner’s flag by Karl Katoch. 41 seconds behind him, 3-time Red Bull Hare Scramble winner Jonny Walker reached the finish at Erzbergrodeoarena. Manuel Lettenbichler followed in 3rd place. Celebrated by the spectators, the German was extremely happy about his podium finish after his incredible race. Wade Young (RSA) took 4th place.
Results
1. Graham Jarvis (GBR) 02:05:59
2. Jonny Walker (GBR) +00:00:41
3. Manuel Lettenbichler (GER) +00:03:03
4. Wade Young (RSA) +00:15:45
5. Billy Bolt (GBR) +00:24:04