Rookie rider Andreas Lettenbichler showed he had what it takes to over come the course and takes first place with the BMW G 450 X.
What a showdown in Sibiu, central Romania: The last of four Offroad Stages once again demands a 110% from everybody in the remaining field, with the strongest end at Andreas Lettenbichler and his BMW team. On the second place comes a still very satisfied Chris Birch, ahead of Andorran three times Red Bull Romaniacs winner Cyril Despres. This last stage caused a true eruption within the pro-field!
Another dry, hot summer-day in the Carpathian Mountains on Wednesday, August 19, was providing the stage of the final showdown of what’s considered as the World’s toughest Hard Enduro Rallye. And it literally brought an earthquake to the final standings!
Exhaustion after what lies behind the remaining riders was in the air, when at 08:00 the winner of the third stage, Brit Paul Bolton, opened the stage, and the high level of demands to the riders in the past days made them pay their dues immediately: While
BMW rider and 2008 runner-up Gerhard Forster had to withdraw after a serious high speed crash at one of the faster sections, others, like Chris Birch simply had to suffer from exhaustion and had to stop several times within the technical sections, just in order to catch a breath. Others in the meantime, such as Cyril Despres, made strategic race errors which pushed them back in the field.
Chris Birch who is very familiar with the Romaniacs rally has seen third place in previous attemps but this time takes second.
“You can’t imagine how stoked I am right now with this trophy in my hands! Our great team, the performance we all showed over the entire period of the race and finally: My first victory at my first ever Rallye! What more can I ask for?? I’m only sorry for my teammate Gerhard (Forster), with whom I’ve had such a great time out there and who got injured after a quite heavy crash before the service point today. He was in third, charging for second place when this happened, and that – another BMW man on the podium - would have just been the cream on the cake”, stated the charismatic 34 years old Bavarian from Kiefersfelden.
On second position, a true Romaniacs-veteran crossed the finish line: Kiwi Chris Birch, two times third on the podium already, stepped it up and became second this year. Still, he was more than satisfied with his performance: “I’m just very happy with this result, considering what I’ve had to go through over the last five days”, Birch said. “There are a million options out there to either wreck your bike or yourself, and it really takes all you have to not do so. This is the most valuable result I’ve ever achieved in my career!”
One person who did not succeed in his strategic plans was Cyril Despres, though. He did not try too hard to make the key section “Long Walk” by himself, turned around and went the chicken line, which brought him a gross penalty time of two hours and forty minutes. Due to the fact that winner Lettenbichler did make that hill, he only had to bring home the victory in a safe ride, leaving Despres helpless to catch up on such a huge virtual gap.
KTM rider Cyril Despres took on a large penalty for taking a different route during the course, leaving him with a third place finish.
Organizer Martin Frenademetz’ recap was a positive one: “I think we’ve seen great riding throughout the last couple of days with great sportive value. Red Bull Romaniacs has delivered riding up to its standards and I think the riders in all classes were enjoying the tracks we’ve laid out. Thanks to the great weather it might have been a bit easier than last year, but hey: Even though it’s tough, we want our people to ride, rather than to push their bikes, anyway!”
2009 Red Bull Romaniacs Overall results:
Pro class
Rank - Name - Nat. - Bike - Total time
1. LETTENBICHLER Andreas - GER - BMW G 450 X - 20:29:11
2. BIRCH Chris - NZL - KTM 300 EXC - 21:10:01
3. DESPRES Cyril - FRA - KTM 300 EXC - 22:11:25
Expert single class
Rank - Name - Nat. - Team - Total time
1. VAN DEN GOORBERGH Jurgen - NDL - Dutch Power - 20:24:59
2. GYENES Manuel - ROU - Vectra Racing - 20:55:23
3. DIETRICH Florian - GER - BMW Touratech Racing - 21:38:50
Expert Team class
Rank - Name - Nat - Team - Total time
1. CYPRIAN Zdenek & VOLNY Martin - CZE - Bodro Racing Czech 5 - 19:44:08
2. KIRSCH Joe & KIRSCH Jeff - LUX - Enduro de Luxe - 29:04:43
3. DENISON Chris & SMITH Alexander - USA - Team USA - 29:43:20
Hobby class
Rank - Name - Nat. - Team - Total time
1. BRAZINA Oldrich & LACH Jaromir - CZE - Bodro Racing - 19:09:57
2. KOHLMAIER Peter & NESUTA Peter - AUT - OMMA Old Men MX Assoc - 19:41:19
3. HEINZE Stefan & RAUCH Knut - GER - H&R MC Ohrdruf - 20:10:02
Courtesy of BMW
Andreas Lettenbichler triumphs at Red Bull Romaniacs
Here´s what it takes to stage one of the world´s toughest and most prestigious Extreme Enduro events: an opening prologue held downtown, four days of racing through the forests of Transylvania, gnarly up- and gruesome downhills, fast rally-type sections and a wild climb up a five-floor inner city building. In brief, these are the ingredients of the Red Bull Romaniacs.
The 2009 edition of the renowned race ended yesterday evening at Sibiu. The victory went to BMW factory rider Andreas Lettenbichler, who prevailed aboard his BMW 450 X. "Letti" entered the event together with his teammate Gerhard Forster, a two-time runner-up of this unique happening deep down in the backyard of Lord Dracula. Romaniacs-newbie Lettenbichler found the features of the 800-kilometer torture to his liking. The friendly Bavarian left the competition scratching their heads - among them some of the best riders in the world.
"I´ve never raced such a rally before, knew little about navigation and had to find my feet at first. But I soon established a rhythm and got on the gas. To be able to run with Cyril Despres, most notably a two-time Dakar winner, is more than I expected to achieve. This win means a lot to me. My bike worked perfectly the whole time, in the fast sections as well as through the tricky stuff. I am over the moon," a beaming Lettenbichler said after the chequered flag had fallen.
The German started the fourth and final race day just 14 seconds behind Despres. All was set for a showdown between these two riders. Despres was leading the way in the beginning, but an almost insurmountable climb to the top of a hill changed the order. While Lettenbichler used all his skills acquired in a previous career as a Trial athlete, his rival didn´t even attempt to conquer the obstacle. Despres received a hefty time penalty, Lettenbichler brought home the win. He eventually crossed the finish line almost one hour before New Zealand´s Chris Birch.
Gerhard Forster rode a consistent race after having finished the prologue in third place. Unfortunately he overlooked a bump on the final day, crashed and injured his shoulder. "I was happy with third and looked forward to the opening stage. I managed to improve with each day and was going strong until the crash. Now I´m heading back to Germany to get the injury examined."
Lettenbichlers victory acknowledges the work of BMW Motorrad Motorsport. The team is already looking towards the legendary Roof of Africa - to be held at the end of November in Lesotho (South Africa). The Romaniacs winner and his by then hopefully healed up team mate will be eager to record BMW´s next win at an Extreme Enduro.
Results Overall Red Bull Romaniacs 2009
1. Andreas Lettenbichler (GER) BMW, 20:29:11 hrs
2. Chris Birch (NZL) KTM, 21:21:01
3. Cyril Despres (AND) KTM, 22:11:25
4. Lionel Seydoux (CH) KTM, 22:55:18
5. Paul Bolton (GBR) KTM, 23:38:05
6. Darryl Curtis (RSA) KTM, 23:41:36
7. Melcior Faja Beltran (ESP) GasGas, 23:55:51
8. Erich Brandauer (AUT), 25:04:24
9. Shane Cuthbertson (CAN) Husaberg, 25:20:55
10. Dieter Happ (AUT) Husaberg, 25:42:55
