Sibiu, Romania, 25 July, 2018 – The Red Bull Romaniacs Offroad Day 1 main challenge was going to be the muddy and slippery track conditions following a night of heavy rainfall. This is not a first for the Red Bull Romaniacs, vivid memories of 2010 were brought back when the Offroad Day 1 conditions were similar. The starting order this morning was defined by the prologue yesterday: Taddy Blazusiak would go first, followed by Wade Young, Billy Bolt, Manuel Lettenbichler (Mini Letti) and Jonny Walker. The classes took off in the following order at 6:30am in the morning: Gold class together with the Bronze class, Silver 30 mins later and Iron at 8:45am. The race-track included some of the feared Red Bull Romaniacs signature sections such as "Better stay dry", "Switchback heaven” and "Switchback hell” as well as two liaisons (33 km before the Service Point and 10 km after).
Competitors, all too aware that weather is a key factor in enduro, set out into the wilderness in wet and foggy conditions, heading into an old, dark forest right after the start. Motivation was high and the best times after the start (reported from “The frog valley”) came in from Wade Young, Jonny Walker and Travis Teasdale. Later in the morning, Jonny Walker started pulling some of the best times, followed by Travis, Mario Roman and David Cyprian. After the Service Point and all the way to the finish, the “Young Guns” Mini Letti and Wade Young dominated the day and battled it out like Jarvis and Walker the years before. Both (Mini and Wade) are known for loving the fast sections and for “pinning it”. They were rewarded with a first place (Mini) and a second (Young). Jonny Walker was hot on their heels throughout the day, not letting them out of his reach. Even though Jonny considered himself having made too many mistakes during the day, he finished as a strong 3rd and appears to be quite charged for the next three days of the usual Red Bull Romaniacs “Enduro mayhem”.
The “King” Graham Jarvis, started from 7th position and was seen slightly caught aback by the cold weather during the first liaison, just before the 600cc section. Once he had ploughed through 600cc, feeling cold was not a problem anymore… He started increasing the rhythm in the 2nd half of the day, building the foundation for his strategy to win the race. Jarvis finished forth but reported some fatigue issues.
The top competitors didn’t seem to be fazed by the slippery ups and downs, they rode the sections such as “600cc”, “Better stay dry” and “Forgotten trail” without any problems. The same could not be said for the Silver Class who were finding it difficult to negotiate their bikes in a straight line without them sliding out sideways down the steep hills. The Bronze class competitors were in for a bit of a “massacre” due to the weather conditions and had their proper Red Bull Romaniacs treatment all day long. They still managed to bravely make it through the day despite being caked in mud from head to toe. The numerous fans on site were offering much appreciated helping hands. Surprisingly many spectators ended up being “out there…” despite the weather - showing true Hard Enduro spirit!
The organizers themselves are also faced with some real challenges - having to relocate to the overnight bivouac location late after yesterday's prologue. The whole headquarters and support team moved ahead of the race circus to the scenic ski resort of “Straja” in the Valcan mountains. Most of the team only arrived around 3am in the morning, expecting to get an average of only 2 hours sleep.
Martin Freinademetz: “We had been REALLY scared of this first (long) day and the weather conditions in general - but all kidding aside: this is the real adventure. When you watch people arriving in the finish - completely stoked - you know it was worth the effort, on both sides!”
Results: https://www.redbullromaniacs.com/results/
Red Bull TV:
https://www.redbull.tv/live/AP-1VG4N15FS2111/red-bull-romaniacs /
Get the full action on Red Bull TV, online and mobile via Android, iOS and Windows Phone and on selected partners’ platforms such as Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV (US), Kindle Fire, Xbox 360, Chromecast and as a pre-installed channel on Samsung Smart TVs (2011+) in 194 countries.
Professional photo-service: high resolution photos from each competitors can be ordered online on www.redbullromaniacs.com (for personal and media use only, no advertising).
About:
Red Bull Romaniacs, the toughest Hard-Enduro rallye on earth.
The Red Bull Romaniacs Extreme Enduro Rallye was created in 2004 by founder Martin Freinademetz. Over the past years it has evolved to the world`s toughest Hard Enduro Rallye. The Red Bull Romaniacs takes place every year and attracts competitors from about 50 countries.
The race is spread over five days, the first being the inner-city prologue in front of thousands of enthusiastic fans. The four “Offroad race days” lead the competitors on some of the world`s most beautiful Enduro trails in the region around Sibiu, Romania (Southern Carpathian Mountains). The breathtaking wilderness, the Romanian hospitality and the unbelievable challenges make the 600km race an unforgettable, lifelong memory for all participants.
The Red Bull Romaniacs are organized under the patronage of the Romanian National Tourism Authority.
