20 Year milestone: the new generation take on the seasoned veterans - all hungry for the podium at Edition 20.
What's in store for Red Bull Romaniacs Edition 20? Tougher than ever challenges and easier viewing for enduro enthusiasts. As a pioneer, leader and an icon on the world stage of hard enduro it's a guarantee that this celebratory 2023 edition, “The Impossible”, will stand out.
Matthias Walkner - Austria
Scouting for more ‘tough’ - for Teo Isac, Track Director since 2015, finding tougher terrain is a tough challenge! Competitor abilities and skills are continually reaching higher levels each year. Twenty years ago signature sections like the Wolf's Nest, Kill ‘em All and the Babysitter would not have been possible; the almost sheer rock faces, practically impossible to walk, are now rideable.
Manuel Lettenbichler - Germany
Looking back to 2004, amateur class competitors raced in a team for safety reasons and to be able to assist each other, tackling sections such as Rindibou where bikes had to be winched across a river canyon with a 7 metre waterfall below and the Long Walk which was a gnarly downhill and at that time was not even considered as being possible to ride up. However, in 2009 Andreas Lettenbichler cleared the section going uphill in 35 minutes only to be topped by his own son, Mani Lettenbichler who cleared it in just 7 minutes in the 2020 event, demonstrating how quickly the sport has evolved.
Today all four offroad days are a “no help zone” and amateur competitors no longer ride in teams. Finding and connecting all these sections keeps Track Director Teo Isac on his motorcycle most of the year.
Jose Garcia - Guatemala
Three of the offroad days in Edition 20 will be concentrated around the Sibiu area and one day in the Valcea valley area. Travel time to the start and finish will be shorter for competitors and easier spectator access. Distance for each of the five classes will be between 100-120 kilometres per day, endurance training is the key to becoming a finisher. Competitors will once again be exposed to some of the most stunning scenery they have ever ridden in.
Sonny Goggia - Italy
Competitors ranging from professional factory competitors, privateers, amateur competitors & spectators will once again descend upon Sibiu. Special for Edition 20 is the Legends class, comprising of some returning competitors from 2004 as well as those who finished in at least five previous event editions. It will be interesting to see how they fare on the 2023 tracks.
Top of their game, Gold class competitors consider Red Bull Romaniacs as their favourite hard enduro event of the year; Graham Jarvis (GBR, Husqvarna), Mani Lettenbichler (DEU, KTM), Mario Roman (ESP, Sherco), Alfredo Gomez (ESP, Rieju), Billy Bolt (GBR, Husqvarna), Jonny Walker (GBR, Beta), Wade Young (ZAF, Sherco) will all be battling it out once again. Challenging them will be the up coming new generation of extreme enduro riders; Trystan Hart (CAN), Teo Kabakchiev (BUL), Michael Walkner (AUT) and Matthew Green (ZAF), who have all gained some experience in the Carpathian mountains and will be extremely hungry to get a spot on the podium this year.
Graham Jarvis - England, United Kingdom
Amateur competitors make up for over 90% of the total competitors. Unlike most other world sporting events they will experience competing, eating together and even sharing some sections of the tracks with the top professionals. For many amateurs it is the race ambition of a lifetime.
Red Bull Romaniacs continues to innovate new ways to bring the action to the eyes of the spectators. LIVEmaniacs will again broadcast the Gold class competing on LIVEmaniacs offroad stages featuring some of the more difficult and technical sections of the tracks, with commentary from former professional competitors Daryl Curtis and Craig Stone. All cameras shooting up close and live in the faces of the top guns.
LIVEnews crews and action photographers will be distributed throughout the tracks, uploading the action LIVE for social media with short action videos featured on the home page every day during the event on 2023 RBR LIVEnews. The LIVEnews follows competitors from all five race classes, online viewers can grasp a sense of the gruelling nature of hard enduro rallye out there in the Romanian wilderness.
Event poster Red Bull Romaniacs 2023
The next media news report will be released in 2 weeks:
THE REVERED AND FEARED IN-CITY PROLOG - ahead of its time in 2004, now a classic event on the world hard enduro stage
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