After topping the time trials at round four of the FIM Hard Enduro World Championship, the Red Bull Romaniacs, KwaZulu-Natal-born enduro racer and Red Bull Athlete, Wade Young yesterday placed third after the first day of proper off-road racing.
Renowned as the world’s toughest Hard Enduro rally, this year’s rally is called “Vertical Madness Reloaded” and set in the mountainous wilderness around Sibiu, Romania.
Young, who won the Red Bull Romaniacs in 2018, was quick to make his mark on the 18th edition of the rally, setting the quickest time in Tuesday’s 18-km Time Trial Qualification. He led home a stacked field, with Jarvis Husqvarna Racing’s Teodor Kabakchiev second and Rockstar Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Alfredo Gomez third.
“It’s been good to get Red Bull Romaniacs underway. Conditions were fast and dusty out there, but I felt happy straight away and my bike was working great. I’m looking forward to the rest of the week,” Young said after the first day.
Yesterday, multiple Romaniacs winner, Scotland’s Graham Jarvis (Husqvarna) set the pace over Day 1’s extremely steep “sheep trails” that saw the riders change 10 km in altitude through the Southern Carpathian Mountains. Jarvis finished the first day’s racing in a time of 4.51.7. The 2020 winner, German rider Manuel Lettenbichler (Red Bull KTM) took three minutes and 29 seconds longer to finish in second place.
South Africa’s Young rode with care, knowing you have to finish it to win, ending nine minutes and 10 seoconds behind Jarvis in third place.
Britain’s Johnny Walker was fourth (5.4.01) with Spains Mario Roman fifth (5.5.21).
As is the norm in the Romaniacs, the steep climbs saw several riders topple over backwards to tumble downhill with their bikes, with the “flat” sections containing concrete barriers and sections with wheel sized boulders, all of which the riders had to traverse.
The Romaniacs ends on Saturday, 31 July.
