Off Road Day Two

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The second day in the mountains at Red Bull Romaniacs saw competitors face the longest course of the week. The Gold class completed 151 kilometres, covering a mix of difficult rocky climbs in the morning and high-speed grassy trails in the afternoon. With over 100 kilometres of riding before the mid-day service, it would prove a physical and energy-sapping start to the day for all.

While Graham Jarvis led the field away at 6.30am, drama would quickly strike Sherco Factory Racing’s Wade Young (RSA) who followed behind him in second. A technical issue on the first climb saw the 2018 winner return to the start line for hasty repairs, hoping to fix a gear selector issue. Despite losing almost one hour, Young re-joined the race, but he was ultimately forced to retire and call time on his bid to defend his Red Bull Romaniacs crown.

At the head of the field, Jarvis looked strong through the morning’s Gold class sections and maintained his position as first on the road until service. Behind him, Gomez was on a charge and worked his way up to the wheel tracks of Lettenbichler, but was hungry for more.

Finding a second wind as they exited service, the Spaniard went on a charge. Catching and overtaking Jarvis late in the day, Gomez was first past the post to ultimately win the day, but more importantly take control of the race lead. Admitting to not having the pace in the afternoon on the faster going, Jarvis placed second on the day. Keeping a consistently fast pace going, Lettenbichler ended his day in third.

Alfredo Gomez (Husqvarna – ESP)

“I was on the hunt today – chasing down the boys in front. I had a very good pace and really enjoyed my riding today. After the service it was a little bit scary going so fast on the grass, but all-in-all it was a very good day for me and I hope I can keep this pace up for the next couple of days.”

Behind the leading trio, Sherco Factory Racing’s Mario Roman (ESP) rode a lonely race for fourth, while the Red Bull KTM Factory Racing duo of Jonny Walker (GB) and Taddy Blazusiak (POL) placed fifth and sixth respectively.

Building on his day one performance, Billy Bolt (Husqvarna – GB) improved to seventh, while JD Gunnex KTM Racing’s David Cyprian (CZ) continued to impress with eighth. Spain’s Josep Garcia (KTM) enjoyed a strong day with the Classic Enduro specialist placing ninth, while TTR Officine Rigamonti’s Pol Tarres (ESP) was 10th.

Josep Garcia (KTM – ESP)

“I’m really happy to be here at the finish line once again. Today was a really hard day, we hit some rain in the mountains and it made the uphills really slippery and difficult. We’ve got two more days to go so hopefully the weather will be ok with no rain. I really enjoyed my riding yesterday, the course was tough but flowed quite well, today was tougher with a lot of pushing and that isn’t as much fun. Overall, I’m feeling good and making some steady progress, so we’ll see what happens over the next couple of days.”

Stepping up to the Gold class as the 2018 Silver class winner, Austria’s Dieter Rudolf (KTM) is fast adapting to the challenge. The Austrian backed up his 10th place on Off Road Day One with 11th on Day Two and currently lies 10th overall in the race.

His compatriot Michael Walkner (KTM – AUT), Silver Class runner-up in 2018, is also performing well in his debut Gold class ride. The 21-year-old has ended both days in 13th to sit 12th overall at the halfway point in the race.

The three Aussies taking on the Gold Class are led by Anthony Solar who was 25th on Day Two ahead of Adam Giles who was 29th on stage and Chris Perry who was 32nd. 

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2019 Red Bull Romaniacs
Off Road Day Two Results

Gold Class

1. Alfredo Gomez (Husqvarna – ESP) 5:41:00
2. Graham Jarvis (Husqvarna – GB) 5:46:58
3. Manuel Lettenbichler (KTM – GER) 5:47:22
4. Mario Roman (Sherco – ESP) 5:49:54
5. Jonny Walker (KTM – GB) 5:55:56
6. Taddy Blazusiak (KTM – POL) 5:59:37
7. Billy Bolt (Husqvarna – GB) 6:09:08
8. David Cyprian (KTM – CZ) 6:19:32
9. Josep Garcia (KTM – ESP) 6:54:07
10. Pol Tarres (Husqvarna – ESP) 6:57:28…

Silver Class

1. Josu Artola (ESP) 5:02:54
2. Josef Westgarth (GB) 5:16:02
3. Alberto Aramburu (ESP) 5:16:35
4. Sam Winterburn (GB) 5:17:04
5. Marc Wulf (GER) 5:26:11…

Bronze Class

1. Jean Michel Vigand (FRA) 4:29:58
2. Eric Slominski (USA) 4:34:25
3. Marius Muntean (ROU) 4:35:04
4. Radu Sardarescu (ROU) 4:37:34
5. Brent Brady (AUS) 4:38:11…

Iron Class

1. Vadim Tagirov (RUS) 4:51:43
2. Anna Schmolzl (GER) 4:59:44
3. Eduardo Martinez (MEX) 5:09:33
4. Oz Nehoray (ISR) 5:14:26
5. Agostino Crema (ITA) 5:20:48…

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2019 Red Bull Romaniacs
Overall Classificiation after Day Two

Gomez’ win on Off Road Day Two sees him move to the top of the Gold Class standings with two days still remaining. Jarvis slips down to second and is five-minutes behind his team-mate. Just over one minute behind Jarvis, Lettenbichler maintains third overall. With Roman in fourth, 10 minutes currently separate the top four.

In the Silver Class it’s Spain’s Josu Artola who continues to set the pace securing his second victory of the week. Behind him Josef Westgarth (GB) took second, ahead of Alberto Aramburu (ESP) and Sam Winterburn (GB). Winterburn is second overall to Artola, with Westgarth less than two minutes behind in third.

Shane Moss (23rd) was the quickest Aussie to complete Day Two in Silver Class ahead of countrymen Adam Poole (27th), Tim Gibson (46th) and Sam Preece (55th).

The Bronze category saw France’s Jean Michel Vigand push through for victory. The win sees him take control of the standings ahead of Marcin Welglarz (POL) who placed sixth today. USA’s Eric Slominski holds third overall thanks to his second-place ride on Off Road Day Two.

Brent Brady was the leading Aussie in the Bronze category on Day Two with a fifth place result ahead of countrymen Cameron Bice (32nd), Raymond Borg (45th), Christian Barrett (50th), Jason Beaton (55th), Marc Grillis (64th), Nicholas Kirk (68th), Robert Kingston (81st), Brendon Cousins (93rd), Paul Mapperson (96th), Dwayne Affleck (105th), Craig Roberts (115th), and John Cockings (165th).

In the Iron class it was Russia’s Vadim Tagirov who won the day to move into the lead in the overall classification. Germany’s Anna Schmolzl continues to show great form, second on Off Road Day Two moves her up to the second overall. Mexico’s Eduardo Martinez ended day two in third. Placing fifth on day two, day one leader Agostino Crema (ITA) slips to third position.

Aaron Mcfadzen is 36th in the Iron Class ahead of countrymen Domenic Dercole (43rd), Aaron Panozza (44th), Brenden Murphy (72nd), Andrew Donnelly (80th), Josh Devine (84th) and Christopher Withers (96th). 

Gold Class

1. Alfredo Gomez (Husqvarna – ESP) 10:15:42
2. Graham Jarvis (Husqvarna – GB) 10:19:45
3. Manuel Lettenbichler (KTM – GER) 10:21:42
4. Mario Roman (Sherco – ESP) 10:26:37
5. Jonny Walker (KTM – GB) 10:44:39
6. Taddy Blazusiak (KTM – POL) 10:50:40
7. David Cyprian (KTM – CZ) 11:13:33
8. Billy Bolt (Husqvarna – GB) 11:34:51
9. Pol Tarres (Husqvarna – ESP) 11:53:36
10. Dieter Rudolf (KTM – AUT) 12:17:58…

Silver Class

1. Josu Artola (ESP) 9:23:16
2. Sam Winterburn (GB) 9:51:20
3. Josef Westgarth (GB) 9:53:00
4. Alberto Aramburu (ESP) 9:53:24
5. Emmanuel Gyenes (ROU) 10:04:20…

Bronze Class

1. Jean Michel Vigand (FRA) 8:55:01
2. Marcin Weglarz (POL) 9:02:15
3. Eric Slominski (USA) 9:14:10
4. Brent Brady (AUS) 9:17:54
5. Marius Muntean (ROU) 9:22:06…

Iron Class

1. Vadim Tagirov (RUS) 8:19:36
2. Anna Schmolzl (GER) 8:24:45
3. Agostino Crema (ITA) 8:37:56
4. Eduardo Martinez (MEX) 8:40:52
5. Danny Melvin (USA) 8:51:20…

Source: MCNews.com.au

Off Road Day One

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Britain’s Graham Jarvis has claimed victory on Off Road Day One at Red Bull Romaniacs, round five of the World Enduro Super Series. The Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing rider charged to the top of the standings on the opening full day of competition, finishing ahead of Sherco Factory Racing’s Wade Young (RSA) and Germany’s Manuel Lettenbichler.

With Tuesday’s Prologue in Sibiu soon forgotten, the competitors from 50 nations quickly got down to business on Off Road Day One. Although the shortest track in this year’s race at 102 kilometres in length for the Gold Class riders, it was anything but easy. With a brutal climb directly after the 6.45am start, riders were immediately woken up and put to work.

At the head of the field it was TTR Officine Rigamonti’s Pol Tarres (ESP) who led the riders out, followed by Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Jonny Walker (GB) and Taddy Blazusiak (KTM – POL) – all separated by three-minute gaps.

Starting seventh on the road, Jarvis quickly went to work and closed in on his rival, using the opening climb to his advantage. But it was clear he wasn’t going to have things all his own way as Lettenbichler, Young, Blazusiak and Alfredo Gomez (Husqvarna – ESP) kept him honest.

During the afternoon the leading group broke up, with Jarvis, Lettenbichler and Young pulling clear. A technical problem saw Blazusiak drop back, losing positions as he fought to overcome his issue, while Walker sat steady in sixth.

On corrected time it was Jarvis who took the opening day win by one-minute and 12-seconds from Young, with Lettenbichler only one minute further back in third. With Mario Roman (Sherco -ESP) fourth and Gomez fifth, the top five are separated by less than four minutes.

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Graham Jarvis (Husqvarna – GB)

“It was an easier day compared with the Off Road Day 1 I had last year, which I was quite happy about. I didn’t really make any time on the difficult sections, but I kept a good pace throughout the race. Importantly, I didn’t make any serious mistakes and was able to catch the other guys early on. I gained a bit of time then and it’s probably made the difference today for sure. With my time here last year still haunting me I feel I’ve helped put things right on day one. But there’s going to be faster days, so how it will suit me I don’t know. But I need to get on with it and go full throttle.”

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Delivering one of the day’s most impressive rides was JD Gunnex KTM’s David Cyprian (CZ). The young 21-year-old looked confident on the challenging climbs and it showed with the privateer claiming a well-deserved seventh.

David Cyprian (KTM – CZ)

“I had a great day today and feel like I rode with a very solid pace. I managed to stay mistake-free through the day and ended up seventh, which is a great start to the week. As we finish today it’s just started to rain, so tomorrow might be pretty tough if it continues like that. But I’m looking forward to it and want to keep this momentum going – we’ll see what happens during the next few days.”

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Australian Adam Giles was 24th outright on Wednesday, a brillliant performance. Countrymen Chris Perry was 29th and Anthony Solar 30th with that Aussie trio all contesting the premier gold class of the competition. 

In the Silver class the top honours went to Spain’s Josu Artola who showed his form in the hot temperatures to pull 10 minutes clear of second-placed Emanual Gyenes (ROU). With a number of riders given 10-minute penalties, third place went to Great Britain’s Josef Westgarth with Patrick Riegler (AUT) in fourth.

Aussie Shane Moss was 19th in Silver, Adam Poole 24th, Tim Gibson 31st, Sam Preece 61st and Shane Bowden 93rd.

The heavily contested Bronze class saw Poland’s Marcin Weglarz take an early lead in proceedings. Weglarz topped the standings over France’s Jean Michel Vigand with Germany’s Wilhelm Ehm third.

Australian Brent Brady was fifth in the Bronze class ahead of countrymen Adam Brice in 28th, Christian Barrett 39th, Jason Beaton 46th, Robert Kingston 65th, Raymond Borg 68th, Dwayne Affleck 80th, Brendon Cousins 81st,  Nicholas Kirk 92nd and Paul Mapperson 93rd, Marc Grills 111th, Craig Roberts 112th, John Cockings 168th, Brett Summers 181st,  and 

The opening day in the mountains for the Iron class saw Israel’s Oz Nehoray secure a commanding 13-minute 30-second margin of victory. Italy’s Agostino Crema was second with USA’s Danny Melvin third.

Aaron Macfadzen was the first Aussie in the Iron class ahead of Aaron Panozza in 38th, Klaus Mueller in 60th, Dominic Dercole 69th, Joshua Devine 75th, Brenden Murphy 81st, Christopher Withers 94th, Andrew Donnelly 95th, 

Red Bull Romaniacs continues with Off Road Day 2 where competitors will tackle a new course that will take them deeper into the Carpathian Mountains. The longest day of the event, Gold class will cover 151 kilometres of riding.

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2019 Red Bull Romaniacs
Off Road Day 1

Gold Class

1. Graham Jarvis (Husqvarna – GB) 4:27:16
2. Wade Young (Sherco – RSA) 4:28:31
3. Manuel Lettenbichler (KTM – GER) 4:29:22
4. Mario Roman (Sherco – ESP) 4:30:11
5. Alfredo Gomez (Husqvarna – ESP) 4:31:01
6. Jonny Walker (KTM – GB) 4:45:13
7. David Cyprian (KTM – CZ) 4:46:58
8. Taddy Blazusiak (KTM – POL) 4:48:06
9. Pol Tarres (Husqvarna – ESP) 4:54:08
10. Dieter Rudolf (KTM – AUT) 5:08:01…

Silver Class

1. Josu Artola (ESP) 4:13:22
2. Emmanuel Gyenes (ROU) 4:23:35
3. Josef Westgarth (GB) 4:24:56
4. Patrick Riegler (AUT) 4:25:24
5. Alberto Aramburu (ESP) 4:27:08…

Bronze Class

1. Marcin Weglarz (POL) 4:08:24
2. Jean Michel Vigand (FRA) 4:11:15
3. Wilhelm Ehm (GER) 4:19:33
4. Valerii Oleinikov (RUS) 4:24:44
5. Eric Slominski (USA) 4:24:45…

Iron Class

1. Oz Nehoray (ISR) 3:08:29
2. Agostinio Crema (ITA) 3:21:59
3. Danny Melvin (USA) 3:24:15
4. Anna Schmölzl (GER) 3:25:01
5. Graham Maclachlan (RSA) 3:27:18…

Source: MCNews.com.au