Sibiu, Romania, 27 July, 2018 – In the morning of Offroad Day 3, the rally left the beautiful ski resort of Straja and headed back towards Sibiu. With clear skies and world class tracks ahead of them, competitors were sent off in good spirits. Had they known what was awaiting them “out there…” spirits might have been slightly dampened. And despite the favourable weather, the track was still soaked and provided little grip.

Halfway through the morning, competitors arrived in an area, that track director Teo Isac called the “Loop of Insanity”. This loop contains the sections “Galindo ridge”, “Babysitter” and “Long walk”. These are some of the toughest challenges the Epic Edition 15 of the Red Bull Romaniacs has to offer. It was going to separate the wolves from the sheep. The area became the perfect playground for the “Wolf pack”, consisting of Wade Young, Manuel Lettenbichler and Jonny Walker. Today was a step towards finding the world's best Extreme Enduro competitor and to score valuable WESS points. 

Wade Young started the day on fire and kept pushing hard - trying to establish his lead position early in the day. Manuel Lettenbichler and Jonny Walker were chasing him into the “Loop of Insanity”, battling it out, neither one wanting Young to get away from them. Young however flew through the sections and made lots of time. The next best performer in this loop, Manuel Lettenbichler, lost ca. 10 mins on Young. Walker, riding with Billy Bolt hot on his heels, lost ca. 20 min on Young. Although Lettenbichler lost some time, he continued to chase like a bat out of hell through the tough sections, which didn’t appear to have any effect on his energy resources and he continued to gain time on the leader. 

However, all of them arrived completely shattered in the Service Point, which was situated in the middle of this “battlefield” - and were barely able to speak. After the Service Point, some well appreciated help was at hand: lots of spectators had made it out into Romanian wilderness to watch the world-elite in action. Noticing the suffering “out there…”, they started offering bananas, food and water at the sections “Galindo ridge” and “Long walk”. A welcome offering for Alfredo Gomez, who had raced without drinking water for a long time today. For him, it was the hardest day and the most technical one. Billy Bolt had stepped up his game this morning and joined the “Wolf pack” for the ride. He rode together with Manuel Lettenbichler for a while, until he got stuck on an uphill.

Wade Young finished the day first, with Manuel Lettenbichler just seconds behind him (2nd). Jonny Walker (3rd) arrived 17 mins after Young, followed by Alfredo Gomez (4th) and Billy Bolt (5th). 

Out with the old, in with the new: Are we currently witnessing a new generation of extreme enduro competitors surfacing? The “Wolf pack” have dominated the first three days and have not shown any signs of tiring, as they should be. In contrast, this years Epic Edition 15 has really taken its toll on some of our known veterans. There were two surprises at the start of the day: Taddy Blazusiak wasn’t able to start, despite his good day yesterday, due to sickness. Graham Jarvis, also had to pull out early in the day due to dehydration and exhaustion. Both hope to be at the start again for Offroad Day 4. Mario Roman, despite having hurt his hand during the prologue, kept pushing bravely through the pain. He finished the day as 6th.

Wade Young: “It was a really long day. The hard stuff at the beginning took it out of us all. I didn’t really push and took it easy - to save a bit for tomorrow. Despite the ultimate goal in sight, I am not nervous, I'm  just riding. If you push too hard you blow - so I'm  focusing not to do that.”

Manuel Lettenbichler: “I feel pretty good, but it was really hard! Around the Service Point it took a lot of energy to proceed. Two gnarly sections after the Service Point were insane. After “Long Walk” I tried to cruise a bit and regain some energy, but the day was a killer.  Still I didn't expect to do so good this year. I’m just having fun and loving the job! Hopefully tomorrow will be a good day and I’ll be able to bring myself and my bike to the finish.”

Jonny Walker: “Pretty tired, I spent all my energy in the really technical sections before the Service Point. This afternoon I was just going through the motions. I had to lie down at the Service Point. I’ll be glad when it’s all over! I feel good but struggling on the wet hills once the leaves are gone it’s so slick, the other competitors will really struggle. Wade and Letti are riding really awesome” 

Results: https://www.redbullromaniacs.com/results/

Red Bull TV:

https://www.redbull.tv/live/AP-1VG4N15FS2111/red-bull-romaniacs

https://www.redbull.tv/wess

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.

Air7 - Volker Jacob
Red Bull Romaniacs Communications & Press

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Skype: volker.jacob 
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We Live Extreme… Enduro!