Round three of the 2025 FIM Hard Enduro World Championship in Tuscany turned into a two-man dogfight, with Billy Bolt edging out series leader Manuel Lettenbichler to take the win at the Abestone Hard Enduro and close the gap in the championship chase.
Bolt was sharp from the opening lap of Saturday’s sprint race, charging through the rocky riverbeds and steep climbs before taming the brutal X-Loop inside the Abetone ski resort to claim the win and pole for Sunday.
Sunday’s two-hour Gold Final played out as one of the best head-to-heads of the season so far. Bolt grabbed the early lead, but Lettenbichler wouldn’t let him out of sight. The pair traded blows for most of the race, opening up a huge gap on the rest of the field. It all came down to the final X-Loop, where Bolt managed to break clear just when it mattered to lock away his first series win of the year.
“It’s been a great weekend,” Bolt said. “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.”
Lettenbichler came up just short but wasn’t too worried, knowing he still holds the red plate heading into the second half of the season. “What a race! We were swapping the lead at the front so often, and Billy rode really well, so congrats to him. I haven’t enjoyed a battle like this for a long time. I almost had him at the end, we ran into each other when I tried to make a block pass, but it wasn’t quite enough. I think it’s clear by the lead that the two of us opened up over the rest of the field that we’re both at the top of our game. If this carries on for the rest of the season, with the two of us fighting this hard for the top step of the podium, it’s going to make the championship very exciting.”
Behind the front two, Mitch Brightmore put GASGAS on the podium in third, while James Moore and veteran Graham Jarvis rounded out the top five.
With Bolt back on top and Lettenbichler still in control of the championship standings, the fight for this year’s Hard Enduro crown looks set to go the distance.
Provisional Overall Results – 2025 Abestone Hard Enduro
1 Billy Bolt (GBR), Husqvarna, 2:18:23.18 (12 laps)
2 Manuel Lettenbichler (GER), KTM, 2:18:27.19 (12 laps)
3 Mitch Brightmore (GBR), GASGAS, 2:14:29.33 (8 laps)
4 James Moore (RSA), KTM, 2:01:40.13 (7 laps)
5 Graham Jarvis (GBR), Husqvarna, 2:06:45.06 (7 laps)
