2021 FIM Hard Enduro World Championship
24MX GetzenRodeo

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Britain’s Billy Bolt has won the 2021 FIM Hard Enduro World Championship by the narrowest of margins, ending the season tied on points with Manuel Lettenbichler, but claiming the overall victory nonetheless – the sport’s first FIM Hard Enduro World Champion.

Despite giving his all and winning the eighth and final round of the championship, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Lettenbichler ended his season as vice-world champion, while Sherco Factory Racing’s Wade Young joined them on the championship podium for third overall.

It all came down to 24MX GetzenRodeo to decide the sport’s first world champion. The math was simple. If Manuel Lettenbichler won his home race, Billy had to finish in second place to clinch the title on a tiebreaker.

The two-hour morning GetzenRace offered a taste of what was to come for the afternoon feature GetzenChamp battle. With 60 riders starting to the deafening sound of a cannon, the fight was on to earn one of the top-15 qualifying positions. Bolt and Lettenbichler meant business and after a race-long battle, Lettenbichler just beat Bolt across the line to win.

Heading into the GetzenChamp race, with the Red Bull TV cameras rolling, the history books were waiting to be written following the next 80 minutes and one lap of racing. Lettenbichler was the first rider flagged away, with Bolt hot on his heels, four seconds later. Next came Young, Mario Roman (Sherco), Alfredo Gomez (Husqvarna), and Jonny Walker (Beta).

Midway through lap one, Bolt caught and passed Lettenbichler and built a gap of 10 seconds. But then things appeared to unravel for the Brit. A mistake on a technical climb sparked a catalogue of errors and as Bolt dropped down as far as sixth, Lettenbichler took the lead and suddenly looked champion elect. Bolt had to regroup.

Needing a moment to reset, Bolt then got to work and picked the riders off. Up to second by mid-distance, he was back in charge of the championship outcome. However, Roman was in close contention in third and not allowing for any more mistakes from Bolt.

Gradually as the race progressed, the top three broke away from the rest of the field. On the final lap, Bolt had the gap to Lettenbichler down to one minute and was now comfortably ahead of Roman in third. The championship was his to lose and Lettenbichler knew it too.

For Mani, it was a near flawless performance as he crossed the finish line to win the 24MX GetzenRodeo for the third time in succession. However, this time around it wasn’t enough to win the title. Dropping out of the final Red Bull X-Loop, Bolt reached the chequered flag in second and with it became Hard Enduro’s first FIM World Champion.

With the top two championship placings settled, Young held off a late charge from Vision Track Beta’s Jonny Walker to maintain fourth in the race and third overall in the championship. Roman, with a strong ride for third on the day, was unable to leapfrog his teammate in the standings and took fourth overall. Consistent as ever, Walker completed the championship top-five with fifth in Germany.

With the inaugural FIM Hard Enduro World Championship delivered, the wait is now on for the 2022 season, beginning with the Minus 400 in Israel on April 5-7.

Billy Bolt – 2021 Champion

“WORLD CHAMPIONS! What an amazing feeling it is. It’s going to take a while to process this one. I can’t believe I’m the FIM Hard Enduro World Champion. It was a heck of a race today. We all knew what we had to do, and we made it happen. I rode great this morning in the qualifier, but I hurt my finger. I was struggling a little with that in the beginning of the race and made a lot of mistakes early on. But I settled myself, regrouped and recovered. When I got back up to second, I closed the gap to Mani to one minute, but didn’t want to risk anything. Riding into the finish line as the world champion was such an amazing moment. It’s been a great year and I can’t thank all of the team enough for their support. We did it!”

Manuel Lettenbichler – Runner-up (GetzenRodeo P1)

“I’m tired, I’m really tired, but super stoked to get the win. I knew I had to do it here at home in Germany and go all-out for victory in front of the fans. To be tied with Billy on points at the end of such a tough championship just shows how hard we were both pushing all season. I really think we have both raised the bar this year. Obviously, it’s disappointing to have come so close, finish on the same points, and only get second in the championship. But I gave it everything and you can’t ask for more than that. The morning race went really well. It was close with Billy and me, but I managed to get ahead just before the finish. The main race was super tough. At first, I was riding so stiff, and my arms felt really heavy. Then, after a couple of battles with Billy I managed to get out front and find a good rhythm. I built up a good lead and was able to relax right up to the end, where I had to push a little bit more to make sure I stayed ahead. To take three wins in a row here at Getzen feels amazing, and I can’t thank the fans enough for their support. I’m looking forward to some nice winter training now to be ready for next season and try again to go for the title.”

Wade Young – P3

“That was a tough race, there was a lot going on. We were constantly battling all of the time. I knew to get third I had a good chance, but I still had to deliver. Mario was riding hard, and I couldn’t bridge it to him. But once I got to fourth, I knew as long as I held it, then I would be on the podium. Overall it’s been good. A win at HERO Challenge was brilliant too.”

Alfredo Gomez – P6

“Today didn’t quite go to plan. I was riding well, but right from the beginning I had arm pump and wasn’t able to push like I wanted to. I struggled to find a good rhythm and was making too many mistakes everywhere. The whole year has been difficult for me, I wasn’t able to train properly at the start because I had an infection in my knee and was off the bike for about four months. Slowly as the season went on, I was able to find my speed and obviously the highlight was my win at home at Hixpania Hard Enduro. I’m happy for Billy and the team for winning the championship and we’ll look ahead to next year now, get some good training done over the winter and keep fighting.”

Taddy Blazusiak – P9

“It’s good to get the championship finished and to be here racing at Getzen. The last few months have been tough for me with the injury to my shoulder and although I haven’t had much time on the bike, I’m glad I was able to come here to Germany and race. Today was ok, this morning went well, and I qualified safely but then I struggled a little this afternoon as things got really slippery out on track. I came in to swap my rear wheel early on and that cost me some time, but I felt better after that. Then, towards the end of the race, I crashed pretty badly. Luckily, I was ok, but the bike wasn’t too good, I flattened the front pipe, and I wasn’t able to continue. It was a good experience and amazing to be a part of this new world championship – the whole year has been great with some really cool races. Congratulations to Billy, he deserved it. I’ll look ahead to the indoors now and focus my training to be ready for the first round in December.”

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2021 GetzenRodeo Results

2021 Hard Enduro Standings

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2022 FIM Hard Enduro World Championship Provisional Schedule

Source: MCNews.com.au