Red Bull Romaniacs Hard Enduro Rallye

Cyril Despres won the Red Bull Romaniacs 3 times.

The Red Bull Romaniacs Hard Enduro Rallye, or "The Red Bull Romaniacs", is an extreme enduro off-road motorcycle race run annually in Romania since 2004. It is part of the Red Bull Hard Enduro Series, together with the Erzberg Rodeo, The Tough One, Sea to the Sky and Hell's Gate. Dakar Rally champion Cyril Despres said the race is "up there with the top three" hard enduro rallies.[1][2]

The rally

Rally organizer Martin Freinademetz had the idea for an enduro rally in the region after he saw the Carpathian Mountains that surround the ancient Transylvanian city of Sibiu.[3]

Prologue

The prologue stage of Red Bull Romaniacs[4] is always held on the main street of Sibiu before the action moves onto the nearby rocky mountain sides and thick forests where the competitors have to prove their endurance and riding skills. A different course is set every year with spectacular obstacles and extreme elements for the competitors to race over.

Off-road

The track crosses well-chosen mountain areas, rocky ground, hills and valleys; tarmac is avoided as much as possible. The length varies between 100 km and 220 km each day depending on the class that the competitor enters.[5] The main challenges are the technical parts, which lead through wooded areas, where competitors are challenged with natural terrain obstacles, they traverse over trees, rocks, mud, and climb and mountains.[5] Petrol fuel stops, or tank stops, are placed at intervals of approximately 70 km, where contestants refuel their motorcycles and have the opportunity to refresh themselves.

The track is marked with banners, signs and colored markings, and is loaded onto a GPS in order to guarantee safety. There are also specially designed spectator points.

List of winners

Graham Jarvis won the rally for the fourth time in 2013 to become the most successful rider in the event's history.[6]

Year Rider Motorcycle
2015 United Kingdom Jonny Walker KTM 300 EXC
2014 United Kingdom Jonny Walker KTM 300 EXC
2013 United Kingdom Graham Jarvis Husaberg TE 300
2012 United Kingdom Graham Jarvis Husaberg TE 300
2011 United Kingdom Graham Jarvis Husaberg TE 300
2010 New Zealand Chris Birch KTM
2009 Germany Andreas Lettenbichler BMW G450 X
2008 United Kingdom Graham Jarvis Sherco 450
2007 France Cyril Despres KTM 300 EXC-E
2006 France Michel Gau KTM
2005 France Cyril Despres KTM
2004 France Cyril Despres KTM

Source: Results of Red Bull Romaniacs[7]

Television coverage

The rally is broadcast in over 215 countries. Altogether, the event could be seen by fans in over 1,400 hours of broadcasting.

References

Further reading

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Saturday, January 30, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.