Red Bull Romaniacs 2017 - The Wild One
New Extremes, Charity and the craziest party ever.
Sibiu, Romania, July 11th, 2017 – The sport of Extreme Enduro is enjoying a rapid growth - both in the number of fans and in the number of athletes who ride “Extreme”. The Red Bull Romaniacs has been one of the first formats to start catering challenges to those who were looking for “the impossible”. In 2016, only 17 out of 51 of the world`s best Extreme Enduro competitors made it to the finish. Among those who had to give in to the brutal Romanian wilderness and the “craziness” of the organizers were international top stars like Jonny Walker, Paul Bolton, Letti Junior, Ben Hemingway and Billy Bolt who all visited the finish of Offroad Day 4 as spectators, resulting in a passionate desire to be back with a vengeance. The glory however went to those who made it to the finish, despite worlds of pain, cramps, failing hardware and... age: Graham Jarvis surprised himself with his 5th win of the Red Bull Romaniacs, something he had considered impossible - given the young and strong competition at about half his age. He was 41 when he showed the world again, who the “King of the Carpathians” was. But even Jarvis also believed, that he might not be able to pull it off yet again, saying “It's good to see the young competitors coming up, they're so fast, but they will be more Jonny's problem than mine!". At some point, the Alpha-dog of Extreme Enduro must have changed his mind and his name appeared on the 2017 Red Bull Romaniacs starting list again. But the competition did not get less motivated… The top guns Alfredo Gomez and Wade Young, who finished the race only minutes apart from each other as 2nd and 3rd in 2016, are breathing down Jarvis neck - each eager to claim their first Red Bull Romaniacs win. Then there is two times winner Jonny Walker, who had to abandon the race in 2016 due to an old injury. Despite stunning racing this year, Walker is still waiting for a big win after his recovery. If the weather plays in their favor (rather dry), the incredibly fast Walker, Gomez and even Young will be candidates for the top spot of the podium. But if it gets wet, Jarvis might be up there a sixth time!
Rain or shine, there is a whole gang of “Young guns” who have their own plans and chances for a spot among the top five: Letti Junior, Billy “the kid” Bolt, Travis Teasdale, Mario Roman, Pol Tarres, David Cyprian and Scott Bouverie. Will they respectfully wait to give the established names Bolton, Enöckl and Knight a shot or will they cut the line, yelling “catch me if you can”…? Fierce battles are to be expected! Starting list: http://www.redbullromaniacs.com/2017-edition/2017-competitors/
The 14th edition of the world`s toughest Extreme Enduro event runs under the code name “The Wild One”. With the wildest and most remote tracks ever, a “wild” party and quite a few new crazy ideas to spice things up for competitors and spectators, things are about to get “different”… One of the most controversially discussed items so far: The big-twin travel Enduro battle between BMW and KTM! Touratech will send a heavily modified Extreme Enduro prototype of the BMW RnineT (1200cc) and KTM an Adventure 1090! Both big bikes will be piloted through the Red Bull Romaniacs (Iron class) by professional competitors - the KTM by Chris Birch (former Red Bull Romaniacs Gold class winner) and the BMW by Gerhard Foster (former Red Bull Romaniacs Gold class podium). This has never been attempted and will be fun to watch…
With less than two weeks until things get extreme again in Romania, the organizers are putting the final touches on the racetrack and the design of the inner city prologue. The race track itself will present competitors with plenty of new challenges along with the usual adventures. Fans and competitors will be happy that the organizers decided to keep the 2017 Red Bull Romaniacs again 100% based in Sibiu. There will be no out of town overnight bivouacs. Spectators and media will enjoy the much better access to watch world class Enduro performance.
- The 2017 race-track will explore 30% of new trails that were not used for the Red Bull Romaniacs before.
- Gold class difficulty level will remain roughly the same, with a few less liaison tracks.
- Silver and Bronze class difficulty levels can also be expected to be at the same level.
- Iron class will be slightly easier to manage due to reduced overall distances.
- The spectator points will be released in a few days on www.redbullromaniacs.com.
Donate used gear for a good cause!
The charity project “Enduro for Romania”, was a big hit last year: thanks to competitors and fans, the Red Bull Romaniacs team were able to make a significant donation to the Sibiu children’s hospital. This is why they are extending this project – to make it even bigger in 2017: throw in more merchandise on their own, organize a bigger flea market and also count on everybody coming to Romania for support! To raise the necessary funds, a flea-market with used and excess Enduro gear will be hosted during the 2017 Red Bull Romaniacs. Competitors and visitors are encouraged to bring anything they can spare: for a good cause! We all have boxes full of unused equipment, memorabilia and sponsor articles in the basement, let`s use them for a good cause! The money will be used 100% for charity – all financial results will be thoroughly reported – as will the activities to help people! More info: http://www.redbullromaniacs.com/about/enduro-for-romania-charity-project
