Sibiu, Romania, 27 July 2023 - Red Bull Romaniacs Offroad Day 2. Tired after the gruesome day yesterday, competitors welcomed the dry weather and good traction on the tracks today. Due to yesterday's storm and the rapid decline in the conditions the times between the top Gold competitors was stretched out leaving some big gaps to close throughout the course of today. The mental preparations would also play a part in getting them through this tough day while feeling physically fatigued. Not all competitors were able to reach the finish in time for the rain today and for those who didn't it became a gruelling remaining hours.
Crossing the Olt River at the start of Offroad Day 2, Arik Yakir (ISR)
It was straight into some technical sections this morning for the Gold Class, before reaching the LIVEmaniacs Stage 2 at the ‘Damned Dam’, a steep climb with off camber tracks and switch backs, some loose rocks and steep ruts allowing little opportunity to pass. Mani Lettenbichler (DEU, KTM) had gained a strong lead by the time he started climbing through the ‘Damned Dam’ but Trystan Hart (CAN, KTM) was able to complete the three laps with a faster time and Sonny Goggia (ITA) gave a very strong performance with the third fastest LIVEmaniacs time of the day.
Hugo Crozet (FRA), Gold Class
Mani had gained enough of a lead that he was out in the front alone for the majority of the day. Trystan Hart battled hard to gain ground on him until he had a navigational error and lost valuable time before the Service Point. Billy Bolt (GBR, Husqvarna) and Teo Kabakchiev (BGR, Econt) were hot on each other's heels after the Service Point playing tag, neither willing to miss a beat so that the other could break away. As soon as Kabakchiev succeeded in passing Bolt he gave it his all, attacking the technical sections one after the other, chasing after Mani as hard as he could. Wade Young (ZAF, Sherco) was in pursuit, chasing hard, not wanting to be separated from the leaders of the pack but he couldn't hold off Michael Walkner (AUS, GasGas) during the tough, constant flow of hard sections at the end of the day. Graham Jarvis (GBR, Jarvis Racing) also made an error on the tracks and lost time which he struggled to recover, placing him eighth fastest time today.
River jump
Gold Class found themselves in some new and some familiar signature sections today; ‘Sheep Farmer’, ‘Martin’s idea’, ‘Bear’s nest’, ‘Broke Back Mountain’, ‘Impossible’, ‘Romanian style’ and ‘Titanic’, the last part of the day requiring these tough enduro riders to dig extra deep for the final push to reach the finish.
Teo Kabakchiev's efforts were rewarded by producing the fastest time over the 92 km of tracks today, followed by Mani Lettenbichler and Billy Bolt in third.
Overall Mani Lettenbichler is leading, Trystan holds onto second and Billy Bolt is in third.
- Teo Kabakchiev (BGR, Econt), 4h55m45s
- Mani Lettenbichler (DEU, KTM), 4h57m46s
- Billy Bolt (GBR, Husqvarna), 5h9m18s
- Trystan Hart (CAN, KTM), 5h10m46s
Teo Kabakchiev: “It was a good day. I started pretty fast passing Graham and Michael. I saw Billy and Wade and decided to go for it and then I passed them before the service point. I got lost for 5 minutes so we arrived at service together. Billy and I rode together after that, he passed me, I passed him and then I was solo. I think i am starting to show that I am getting more technical now and not only that fast guy which is important in the hard sections”.
Mani Lettenbichler: “I could already feel my body tired from yesterday so I tried to keep it as safe as possible and not make any mistakes. I'm pretty stoked to be the first guy in the finish”.
Billy Bolt (GBR) flies high
The Silver Class had a tough day right from the start, completing 107 km. After the Service Point they joined up with the Gold Class for a taster of the next level. The signature sections ‘Chaos stone’, ‘Goat trail’, ‘Silver Massacre’, ‘Electrocution’, ‘Rocket lunch’, ‘Back to the roots’, and the new ‘Empty yourself’ will stick in their memories long after they reach the finish.
1. Ben Wibberley (GBR)
2. Sergiu Grecu (ROU)
3. Tomasz Gagat (POL)
Bronze Class competitors had a long day today, covering 117 km. There were sections where competitors could hit top speeds and wide open mountain areas where they passed through stunning Romanian landscapes. Some technical sections slowed the pace down but nothing too daunting and with good traction. Pol Tarres pushed hard to come in with the fastest time of the day on his Yamaha Ténéré 700 and Kevin Gallas scored the 27th fastest time.
1. Pol Tarres (AND)
2. Jürg Schütz (CHE)
3. Fausto Mota (ESP)
Overall the rankings are: Jürg Schütz (CHE) followed by Ovidiu Nistor (ROU) and then Pol Tarres (AND).
Iron Class were all smiles at the finish. It was a day to experience some wide open tracks through the spectacular Romanian alpine landscape with good visibility. They covered 95 km today.
Robert Adams (GBR), Iron Class
1. Robert Adams (GBR)
2. Ovidiu Tronaru (ROU)
3. Samuel Defoy (BEL)
For the Atom Class it was 98 km of flowy tracks, joining up with the Iron Class for some sections. Some technical tracks were thrown in to remind competitors that it is the Red Bull Romaniacs and not a ride in the park.
1. Alfredo Jiménez Rueda
2. Jamie Cass (GBR)
3. Janis Stauers (LVA)
Teo Kabakchiev will be first at the start for the Gold Class Offroad Day 3 at 08:00 EEST, Silver Class will start at 06:45, Bronze Class at 06:45, Iron Class at 08:41 and Atom Class at 10:16.
FRIDAY 28 JULY is Offroad Day 3.
The Spectator Points - descriptions and maps can be found here.
Keep track of the race progress throughout the day here.
ONLINE LIVE streaming schedules can be found here.
