Sibiu, Romania. Wednesday 29 July - Competitors were off to an early start for the first of four gruelling Offroad Days. With the sun shining and the tracks offering a mix of dusty and damp sections, conditions were excellent for the start of the race.
As determined by yesterday's Prolog results it was Mani Lettenbichler (DEU, KTM) who was first off the start this morning, followed by Mitch Brightmore (GBR) and Teo Kabakchiev (BGR, Sherco), who had a whole new level of motivation after claiming victory in yesterday’s Prolog.
With twenty five competitors in the race for Gold and a huge 180 kilometres to conquer, it was destined to be a tough day. Early out the start competitors faced the sections “Switchback Warm Up”, “Live or Die” “Last Chance” and “Mental Trap” followed by some faster sections that brought them to “Masterpiece Loop” just before the Service Point.
Lettenbichler held the lead that he had set out onto the tracks with but Kabakchiev was hot on his heels keeping the pressure on for most of the day. The battle remained tight until just before the LIVEmaniacs section where Lettenbichler was able to avoid costly mistakes and maintained his focus and pulled clear of his rival and gained valuable time.
Today's LEATT LIVEmaniacs Stage 1 presented a brand new challenge called the “Octopus” featuring brutally steep terrain up and downhill with off camber pitches. The Gold Class competitors had to complete the relentless loop three times. The section was dry and dusty with really loose dirt. Lettenbichler paved the way for the rest of the pack, improving his times each lap as the race began to swing in his favour. He was already into his final lap when Kabakchiev arrived at the “Octopus”. Kabakchiev had a tougher time through this stage which cost him valuable time against the leader. Michael Walkner (AUT) was on fire, chasing his way through the pack all day. Walkner arrived third in the “Octopus” section and put in a stellar performance of the three laps.
Offroad Day 1 finished with Lettenbichler taking the win, his advantage over Kabakchiev is far from comfortable, with only a 7m 58s gap leaving the battlefield still wide open, with very little room for error in the next three Offroad Days. Kabakchiev secured second place and Walkner had a fantastic result coming in third position.
James Moore (ZAF) and the Brightmore brothers (GBR), who finished P4, P5 and P6 respectively, showed they are very much in the hunt and cannot be dismissed as serious podium challengers.
Graham Jarvis (GBR, Jarv-e) completed the day in Gold Class on his eMoto, making history as the first-ever competitor to take on the toughest class at Red Bull Romaniacs on an electric bike. Finishing in P19, the “Silent Assassin” demonstrated the capabilities and potential of eMoto technology in the world of Hard Enduro.
Gold Class Results:
- Mani Lettenbichler (DEU)
- Teo Kabakchiev (BGR)
- Michael Walkner (AUT)
LIVEmaniacs fastest times:
- Mitch Brightmore (GBR), 12m 49s
- James Moore (ZAF), 13m 37s
- Michael Walkner (AUT), 13m 37s
Ashton Brightmore (GBR) Gold Class
The Offroad Day 1 finish was inside the abandoned Petrila Mine, a location that has not been visited by Red Bull Romaniacs since 2018. This old mining region and home to one of Romania's most iconic mining industrial landmarks provided the most unique Offroad finish. Competitors had to race through an abandoned concrete building featuring narrow crumbling hallways, ruined stairways, piles of rubble and fallen beams before they could reach the finish line, tired and caked in black coal dust.
Lettenbichler: “It was a fast day, long day, some technical sections, not bad though. In the LIVEmaniacs section I found a good rhythm and I was riding by myself which was nice. Hopefully I recover well tonight for tomorrow. It was a fast day, and I pushed hard”
Silver Class had a fast start to the day sharing tracks with Bronze Class for a while before stepping it up and joining some Gold tracks and tackling sections “Shoot me”, “Ass slide”, “Donkey trail”, “No right turn”.
The Australian competitor Sandon Kerswell seriously dominated this class finishing with an over 26 minute lead ahead of his second place rival.
Sandra Gomez (ESP) gave an outstanding performance finishing in P6 today. As did Remy Gardner, competing in his first ever Red Bull Romaniacs who finished in P40.
The day covered 155km today for the Silver Class.
Silver Class Results:
- Sandon Kerswell (AUS)
- Florian Kirchmayer (AUT)
- Lorenz Steinkellner (AUT)
Bronze Class had their longest Offroad Day today, featuring the perfect mix between technical tracks and fun, fluent riding. The 152km distance was not too challenging but still tiring, capping it off with the unique industrial building challenge to finish.
Despite being such a long day it was a tight finish between the top three Bronze competitors with only 2m separating them all. Emanuel Gyenes (ROU), who has competed in all twenty three editions of the Red Bull Romaniacs finished in P3. Female competitor Tjaša Fifer (SVN) finished in P6.
Bronze Class Results:
- David Rusanescu (ROU)
- Emanuel Gyenes ROU)
- Maik Schubert (DEU)
Iron Class completed 143km on their first day out in the Carpathian mountains. There were some tougher Romaniacs style up and downhill sections as well as good flowy tracks.
Iron Class Results:
- Nico Friedmann (DEU)
- Cameron Mackintosh (NZL)
- Mark Whyte (NZL)
Atom Class had a soft introduction today with enjoyable tracks, some challenges but nothing too extreme. The Atom tracks partly crossed into the Iron ones but then avoided the heavier sections. Atom competitors will not be let off so lightly tomorrow. They still covered 142km.
Atom Class Results:
- Bas Fokkema (NDL)
- Kristaps Šmats (LVA)
- Gerd Bommer (AUT)
Matthew Green (ZAF) Gold Class
ADVENTURE BIKE CATEGORY
The Adv Ultimate Class compared to last year today's Offroad Day was harder, with more tough, technical sections and its long duration took its toll, particularly on these competitors who are riding bigger, heavier multi-cylinder bikes. The morning brought some damp and slippery sections, but in the sunnier sections, the tracks were dry, leaving predominantly dusty conditions for the majority of the day.
There were some rough, deeply rutted stretches that are definitely more demanding physically on the bigger, heavier bikes compared to the lighter Hard Enduro ones. The spectacular mine-site finish provided another demanding test, with the larger bikes being harder to manoeuvre through some of the tighter and more technical sections of the derelict mine site.
After 149km there was less than a minute dividing the top three. The battle between Mario Roman (ESP, CFMoto), Pol Tarrés (AND, Yamaha) and Dieter Rudolf (AUT) is a tight one and all eyes will be on them as we head into Offroad Day 2 tomorrow.
ADV Ultimate Results:
- Mario Roman (ESP)
- Pol Tarrés (AND)
- Dieter Rudolf (AUT)
Adv Core Class raced through some classic stunning Carpathian landscape today, there were some shorter tough sections and a long day on the bike covering 151 km.
Sam Sunderland (GBR, Triumph), who won the Adv Lite Class in 2025, had the fastest times today and his Triumph teammate Ivan Cervantes (ESP, Triumph) close behind in fourth place.
Adv Core Results:
- Sam Sunderland (GBR)
- Jose Antonio Lombardia (ESP)
- Rene Columna (DOM)
Adv Lite Class had some faster tracks through stunning landscapes but with some rocky roads which meant competitors had to stay focused and alert for long hours on their bikes. The hardest section was along a beautiful lake section before heading to the old mine building for the finish. It was the easiest day of the Offroad Days so a generous, gradual introduction. They covered 149km.
Adv Lite Results:
- Adrian Raduta (ROU)
- Guishu He (CHN)
- Liviu Mircea Bereteu (ROU)
Adventure Core Class start
Red Bull Romaniacs continues to encourage the eMoto Hard Enduro and today the eMoto Hobby Class had some nice tracks covering 48 km, there weren't any heavy sections, focusing more on enjoyable terrain, which the competitors and the bikes completed with success.
Romanian TV celebrity Dani Otil had a great result coming in third position which is good publicity for the eMoto sector.
eMoto Hobby Class Results:
- Martin Dosch (DEU)
- Ovidiu Tronaru (ROU)
- Dani Otil (ROU)
For full RESULTS please refer to the website.
Competitors will stay in Straja and Petroșani for the next two nights unlocking access to vast terrain that hasn’t been visited since 2018 revealing spectacular new landscapes, new challenges and an even greater sense of adventure.
Race Program
LEATT LIVEmaniacs including REPLAYS
Spectators Planning Guide
LIVENews daily videos and photos from ALL classes
Petrila Mine Finish
Founded by Martin Freinademetz in 2004, Romaniacs is the only five day Extreme Enduro Rallye of its kind in the world. Competitors experience some of the most breathtaking scenery in the Transylvanian Carpathian Mountains while attempting to conquer some of the toughest terrain to either win a spot on the Red Bull Romaniacs podium or to succeed in becoming a Red Bull Romaniacs finisher. The event continually evolves and is successfully growing the Adventure Bike category and along with the Enduro and eMoto class there are now nine race classes.
Petrila Mine Finish
Photo credit: Adrian Crapciu
Press Release by: Susan Mould
Media Team
Red Bull Romaniacs