MANUEL LETTENBICHLER WON THE 8TH AND FINAL ROUND OF THE FIM HARD ENDURO WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP 2021

Manuel Lettenbichler wins GetzenRodeo at home race

German rider ends FIM Hard Enduro World Championship season 2nd overall.

Manuel Lettenbichler won the eighth and final round of the FIM Hard Enduro World Championship, his third GetzenRodeo win in succession, but the Red Bull KTM Factory Racing driver ended his season as vice-world champion.

After an incredible inaugural season of the FIM Hard Enduro World Championship, it all came down to 24MX GetzenRodeo to decide the sport’s first world champion, and the maths were simple: if Germany’s Lettenbichler won his home race, Britain’s Billy Bolt had to finish in second place to clinch the title on a tie-breaker.
The two-hour morning GetzenRace offered a taste of what was to come for the afternoon’s GetzenChamp battle – with 60 riders starting to the deafening sound of a cannon, the fight was on to earn one of the top 15 qualifying positions, and after a race-long battle, Lettenbichler just beat Bolt across the line to win.
Heading into the GetzenChamp race, the next 80 minutes and one lap of racing would decide the inaugural FIM Hard Enduro World Championship winner.
Lettenbichler was the first rider flagged away, with Bolt hot on his heels four seconds later.
Next came Sherco’s Wade Young, followed by team-mate Mario Roman, Husqvarna’s Alfredo Gómez, and Beta’s Jonny Walker.
Midway through lap one, Bolt caught and passed Lettenbichler and built a gap of 10 seconds, but then things appeared to unravel for the Brit when a mistake on a technical climb sparked a catalogue of errors and, as Bolt dropped down as far as sixth, Lettenbichler took the lead and suddenly looked champion elect.
Bolt then got to work to pick the riders off and was up to second by mid-distance and back in charge of the championship outcome; however, Spain’s Roman was in close contention in third and not allowing for any more mistakes from Bolt.
As the race progressed the top three broke away from the rest of the field, and on the final lap Bolt had the gap to Lettenbichler down to one minute and was now comfortably ahead of Roman in third.
For Lettenbichler, it was a near flawless performance as he crossed the finish line to win the 24MX GetzenRodeo for the third time in succession, but it wasn’t enough to win the title, as Bolt reached the chequered flag in second and with it became Hard Enduro’s first FIM World Champion.
With the top two championship placings settled, South Africa’s Young held off a late charge from Britain’s Walker to maintain fourth in the race and third overall in the championship; while, Walker completed the championship top five with fifth in Germany.
GASGAS team-mates Michael Walkner and Taddy Błażusiak finished the race seventh and 14th respectively, with the Austrian and Polish riders ending the season seventh and ninth overall.
Lettenbichler, 23, said: “Ah man, that was close, but I couldn’t get the championship done. I knew coming into it that it would be hard to win the title with how the points were, but I gave it my best shot. Hats off to Billy, I’m proud of him too, we had a great season together.”
Young, 25, said: “That was a tough race, there was a lot going on. I knew to get third I had a good chance, but I still had to deliver. Mario was riding hard, and I couldn’t bridge it to him. But once I got to fourth, I knew as long as I held it, then I would be on the podium.”
With the inaugural FIM Hard Enduro World Championship delivered, the wait is now on for the 2022 season, beginning with the Minus 400 in Israel on April 5-7.

24MX GetzenRodeo results