'In Madness We Trust'  Edition 19  Red Bull Romaniacs hard enduro rallye  July 26-30. 2022

Alfredo Gomez wins the return of the legendary Prolog. Smooth, fluid flow and crowd pleasing jumps delivered some high speed laps.

Sibiu / Hermannstadt, Romania, 26 July 2022 - Today's Prolog took place under the blazing sun where competitors tackled the man-made obstacles in the scorching heat. Fans flocked to the Prolog as if on cloud nine, jubilant to see the city reawaken after a two year slumber from the two stroke perfume, smoking tyres, open throttles - the atmosphere was buzzing.

Upon first sight the Prolog had a daunting impression with its double ramps, tyres and complex matrix and rocks designs. However the 200 tonnes of rock, 80 industrial tyres - each weighing about 500kg, logs and concrete barriers were all cleverly arranged to ease competitors back into a traditional Red Bull Romaniacs rhythm with nice flow and a unique figure eight track. The eleven obstacles hit the mark perfectly and Gold class were able to showcase their freestyle motocross skills offering trick jumps over the ramps and fast technical enduro skills through the tyres and logs.

Manuel Lettenbichler (DEU, KTM) immediately took a commanding lead out from the start but Alfredo Gomez (ESP) had the win in his sights and was quick to breathe down his neck, pushing past Lettenbichler. Taddy Blazusiak (POL, GAS GAS) managed to ride a smooth run and gain the front position, but once again Gomez assumed his lead. Mario Roman (ESP, Sherco) was not prepared to be left out of the equation and chased the leaders of the pack over this fluid, super fast track where the slightest mistake would cost a spot on the podium. Gold class lapped the Prolog nine times and Gomez was able to secure the top position on the podium, followed by Taddy Blazusiak in second and Manuel Lettenbichler in third.

Alfredo Gomez: “It was a good fight with Taddy and Mani. I hope the following days will go better than last year and I will not have problems with dehydration. I’m happy to win the Prolog and see all the spectators again”.

Taddy Blazusiak: “It was a good race. I got a good start, I went as smoothly as possible. Half way through I gaped Alfred but then I got excited and made a mistake. It's been 4 months since I raced and the intensity was brutal. Towards the end my arms were losing strength. It was fun and 2nd place I can't complain. It’s one for the old guys! I plan to fight to the last minute on the Offroad days. I'll adjust my riding a bit with my hand injury, plan to stay fast, maintain the pace and hope to last the week”.

Silver class was evidence of two generations competing side by side as the veteran Chris Birch (KTM) stood on the same podium in third position as the young Hungarian, Barnabas Csizmazia, who claimed the win at today's Prolog. Barnabas Csizmazia is the trials champion in Hungary and only started hard enduro four months ago. In second position was Fabien Poirot (FRA).

Bronze class were not too hesitant on the Prolog today, many competitors were able to keep up some good momentum, every so often being interrupted by the industrial sized tyres that would rapidly stop them in their flow. Competitors who struggled or crashed received huge cheers and clapping from the rowdy spectators emphasising the entertainment value out on Coposu Boulevard street today.

Pol Tarres (AND) put on a spectacular performance on his Ténéré 700, easily clearing the Milwaukee ramp and appearing to almost float over the top of the obstacles, aside from one crash it was an almost faultless run, putting him in third position today. Second position was Alexis Bérépion (FRA) and in the top spot was Håvard Nevland (NOR). Matthias Walkner (AUT, KTM), finished in twelfth position on his KTM Dakar rally factory bike.

Offroad Day 1 will start in the Dacian forests. Competitors can expect hot, dry and dusty conditions out on the tracks tomorrow. “LIVEmaniacs” online live transmission featuring the Gold class and F.I.M Hard Enduro World Championship competitors will start at 07:30-09:00 (EEST). It will be the first ever opportunity to capture real live action with commentary from the tracks on all four Offroad days.
Offroad start times will be Silver and Bronze 06:45, Gold 07:00 and Iron 08:00, Atom:09:30.