{"id":11625,"date":"2026-07-30T13:28:43","date_gmt":"2026-07-30T13:28:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/enduroworld.co.za\/2023\/?p=11625"},"modified":"2026-07-30T13:28:43","modified_gmt":"2026-07-30T13:28:43","slug":"red-bull-romaniacs-lettenbichler-ger-leads-the-charge-on-the-first-offroad-day","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/enduroworld.co.za\/2023\/red-bull-romaniacs-lettenbichler-ger-leads-the-charge-on-the-first-offroad-day\/","title":{"rendered":"Red Bull Romaniacs: Lettenbichler (GER) leads the charge on the first Offroad Day"},"content":{"rendered":"

Lettenbichler leads the charge. Adv Ultimate in a tight battle.
\nSibiu, 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.
\nAs 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\u2019s Prolog.
\nWith 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 \u201cSwitchback Warm Up\u201d, \u201cLive or Die\u201d \u201cLast Chance\u201d and \u201cMental Trap\u201d followed by some faster sections that brought them to \u201cMasterpiece Loop\u201d just before the Service Point.
\nLettenbichler 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.
\nToday’s LEATT LIVEmaniacs Stage 1 presented a brand new challenge called the \u201cOctopus\u201d 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 \u201cOctopus\u201d. 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 \u201cOctopus\u201d section and put in a stellar performance of the three laps.
\nOffroad 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.
\nJames 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.
\nGraham 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 \u201cSilent Assassin\u201d demonstrated the capabilities and potential of eMoto technology in the world of Hard Enduro.
\nGold Class Results:
\n1.
\nMani Lettenbichler (DEU)
\n2.
\nTeo Kabakchiev (BGR)
\n3.
\nMichael Walkner (AUT)
\nLIVEmaniacs fastest times:
\n1.
\nMitch Brightmore (GBR), 12m 49s
\n2.
\nJames Moore (ZAF), 13m 37s
\n3.
\nMichael Walkner (AUT), 13m 37s<\/p>\n

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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.
\nLettenbichler: \u201cIt 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\u201d
\nSilver 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 \u201cShoot me\u201d, \u201cAss slide\u201d, \u201cDonkey trail\u201d, \u201cNo right turn\u201d.<\/p>\n

The Australian competitor Sandon Kerswell seriously dominated this class finishing with an over 26 minute lead ahead of his second place rival.
\nSandra 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.
\nThe day covered 155km today for the Silver Class.
\nSilver Class Results:
\n1.
\nSandon Kerswell (AUS)
\n2.
\nFlorian Kirchmayer (AUT)
\n3.
\nLorenz Steinkellner (AUT)<\/p>\n

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\nBronze 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.
\nDespite 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 Tja\u0161a Fifer (SVN) finished in P6.<\/p>\n

Bronze Class Results:
\n1.
\nDavid Rusanescu (ROU)
\n2.
\nEmanuel Gyenes ROU)
\n3.
\nMaik Schubert (DEU)<\/p>\n

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.
\nIron Class Results:
\n1.
\nNico Friedmann (DEU)
\n2.
\nCameron Mackintosh (NZL)
\n3.
\nMark Whyte (NZL)<\/p>\n

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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.<\/p>\n

Atom Class Results:
\n1.
\nBas Fokkema (NDL)
\n2.
\nKristaps \u0160mats (LVA)
\n3.
\nGerd Bommer (AUT)
\nADVENTURE BIKE CATEGORY
\nThe 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.
\nThere 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.
\nAfter 149km there was less than a minute dividing the top three. The battle between Mario Roman (ESP, CFMoto), Pol Tarr\u00e9s (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.<\/p>\n

ADV Ultimate Results:
\n1.
\nMario Roman (ESP)
\n2.
\nPol Tarr\u00e9s (AND)
\n3.
\nDieter Rudolf (AUT)
\nAdv 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.
\nSam 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.<\/p>\n

Adv Core Results:
\n1.
\nSam Sunderland (GBR)
\n2.
\nJose Antonio Lombardia (ESP)
\n3.
\nRene Columna (DOM)
\nAdv 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.
\nAdv Lite Results:
\n1.
\nAdrian Raduta (ROU)
\n2.
\nGuishu He (CHN)
\n3.
\nLiviu Mircea Bereteu (ROU)
\nRed 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.
\nRomanian TV celebrity Dani Otil had a great result coming in third position which is good publicity for the eMoto sector.<\/p>\n

eMoto Hobby Class Results:
\n1.
\nMartin Dosch (DEU)
\n2.
\nOvidiu Tronaru (ROU)
\n3.
\nDani Otil (ROU)
\nFor full RESULTS please refer to the website.
\nCompetitors will stay in Straja and Petro\u0219ani for the next two nights unlocking access to vast terrain that hasn\u2019t been visited since 2018 revealing spectacular new landscapes, new challenges and an even greater sense of adventure.<\/p>\n

On Wednesday, 29th July<\/strong>, competitors lined up in Sibiu, Romania<\/strong> at dawn, ready to tackle the first of four grueling Offroad Days<\/strong> at the Red Bull Romaniacs<\/strong>. With the sun shining and the tracks offering a mix of dusty and damp sections, conditions were excellent for the start of the race. With twenty five<\/strong> competitors in the race for Gold and a huge 180 kilometres<\/strong> to conquer, it was destined to be a tough day.<\/p>\n