Day two at round five of the FIM Hard Enduro World Championship at 24MX Hixpania Hard Enduro saw Billy Bolt prove fastest.
The Brit delivered a great ride in the Campoo X-Treme race to top the classification over Wade Young, with Manuel Lettenbichler in third.
Like the weather, the pace was hot during today’s racing at round five of the FIM Hard Enduro World Championship in Aguilar de Campoo in Spain. With Friday’s street race dampened by the rain, a decision was taken by organisers to use Saturday’s Campoo X-Treme as the prologue points-paying race. So, with championship points now up for grabs, all riders were eager to put in their best performance.
The Campoo X-Treme race featured a 40-kilometre-plus course circling the town’s lake. Ridden twice for the pro class riders, the multiple gold sections ensured it would be a difficult one to master. The lower classes were spared the gold sections but would have to complete three laps of the lake to secure a finish.
As the riders blasted off the line, it was Manuel Lettenbichler who shot out to an early lead. The German leads the championship by a healthy margin and with the possibility of clinching the title in Spain, he was eager to claim those extra championship points.
However, Billy Bolt and Wade Young were hungry for success too. Both riders were enjoying the fast and dusty trails and quickly applied the pressure to the KTM rider.
On the first gold section, Bolt made his move and took over the race lead. The Brit was looking comfortable in the terrain and was happy to open the course on lap one. Confident in his riding, the Husqvarna rider put in a brilliant second lap. Distancing himself from Young and Lettenbichler, he secured victory and with it took three championship points.
“I was super happy with how I rode today,” Bolt declared, “It’s the best I’ve felt in quite a while. My initial plan was to try and follow on lap one, but the dust was pretty bad, so I made a push for the lead in the first gold section. I got past Mani and managed to hold the lead for the rest of the race. Mani and Wade were never too far behind, so the pace was high too.”
Finding his feet, Young was enjoying the dusty, rocky trails that mirrored his home tracks of South Africa. Although unable to go with Bolt, he too pulled a gap over Lettenbichler and held it to the finish line to place as runner-up.
“It was dusty out there. But the battles with Mani and Billy were good,” Young said. “I feel like I rode strong, with more in the tank. I’m in a good position heading into tomorrow’s race now, so I’m excited to give it my all.”
Despite taking an early lead, Lettenbichler didn’t quite have the pace of Bolt or Young to challenge for today’s win and settled for third. Knowing tomorrow’s main event will be slower and more technical, Lettenbichler may have been saving some energy for when the going gets really tough.
“Third was good enough for a strong starting position in tomorrow’s race. I was going well, but so were Billy and Wade. We had a good battle. Billy passed me on the gold section, but we were always pretty close,” Lettenbichler said.
Behind the top three, Michael Walkner slotted into fourth, while home favourite Mario Roman completed the top five.
In the FIM Junior Hard Enduro World Championship supported by KLIM, it was Mitch Brightmore who took the victory. The Brit put in a strong ride to finish an impressive eighth overall. He’ll be hoping to keep that momentum rolling tomorrow in terrain that should suit the former trials rider.
Behind Mitch, it was close rival Matthew Green who placed as second Junior, while Mitch’s younger brother Aston finished close behind in third.
The 24MX Hixpania Hard Enduro concludes tomorrow with Sunday’s ACERBIS Lost Roads main event.
Results: Round 5 – 24MX Hixpania Hard Enduro, Saturday
Campoo X-Treme
1 Billy Bolt (Husqvarna) 2:38:44.129
2 Wade Young (Sherco) 2:40:09.356
3 Manuel Lettenbichler (KTM) 2:41:13.140
4 Michael Walkner (GASGAS) 2:52:23.188
5 Mario Roman (Sherco) 2:54:54.874
6 Alfredo Gomez (Rieju) 3:00:00.745
7 Marc Riba (Beta) 3:00:23.075
8 Mitch Brightmore (GASGAS) 3:03:00.200
9 David Cyprian (KTM) 3:04:05.809
10 Matthew Green (KTM) 3:04:18.317
