It was a dry, hot summer-day in the Carpathian Mountains in Sibiu, Transylvania, on Wednesday, August 19, when the world’s most courageous hard-enduro riders pushed through the final showdown of the toughest of all extreme motorcycle events, Red Bull Romaniacs. But there could only be one winner, and for the first time ever, German rookie Andreas Lettenbichler took out the crown, closely followed by Kiwi Chris Birch and Frenchman Cyril Despres.
The last of four off-road stages for Red Bull Romaniacs once again demanded 110% from everybody in the remaining field. Exhaustion was in the air when at 08:00 the winner of the third stage, Brit Paul Bolton, opened the final leg, while the 2008 runner-up Gerhard Forster had to withdraw after a serious high speed crash at one of the faster sections. Many like Chris Birch simply suffered from exhaustion and had to stop several times within the technical sections just in order to catch a breath, with others such as Cyril Despres making strategic race errors which pushed them back in the field.
“You can’t imagine how stoked I am right now with this trophy in my hands!” said Lettenbichler. “Our great team, the performance we all showed over the entire period of the race and finally: my first victory at my first ever Rallye! What more can I ask for?? I’m only sorry for my teammate Gerhard (Forster), with whom I’ve had such a great time out there and who got injured after a quite heavy crash before the service point today. He was in third, charging for second place when this happened, and that would have just been the icing on the cake,” stated the charismatic 34 year-old Bavarian from Kiefersfelden.
On second position, a true Romaniacs-veteran crossed the finish line: New Zealander Chris Birch, who two times third on the podium already, stepped it up and became second this year. “I’m very happy with this result, considering what I’ve had to go through over the last five days,” Birch said. “There are a million chances out there to either wreck your bike or yourself, and it really takes all you have to not do so. This is the most valuable result I’ve ever achieved in my career!”
One person who did not succeed in his strategic plans was Cyril Despres. He didn't make the key section “Long Walk” on the last day track and turned around and went by an alternative route, which brought him a gross penalty time of two hours and fourty minutes. But it was still enough to land him third place.
For more details and pics check out:
http://www.redbullromaniacs.com
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