NEW DT OCT 21

INTERNATIONAL ENDURO NEWS
Pic by Future7Media
BILLY BOLT
MOVES TO THE TOP OF HARD ENDURO WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS
The sixth round of the FIM Hard Enduro
World Championship saw Rockstar
Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s
Billy Bolt move to the top of the series
standings thanks to a hard fought
second-place result. Teammate Alfredo
Gomez enjoyed a mixed outing at the
Polish race, winning the Saturday night
SuperEnduro before finishing seventh in
Sunday’s main race.
With just one point separating Bolt
from championship leader Manuel
Lettenbichler prior to the start of HERO
Challenge, Billy arrived in Poland with
his sights set on doing all he could
to move to the top of the title chase.
Highly motivated following his victory
last time out in the USA, Bolt began the
proceedings in a determined mood.
Finishing a close second in the Saturday
morning qualifier, he went on to back
that up with fourth in the night time
SuperEnduro. Knowing it was all to play
for during Sunday’s three-hour extreme
cross country race, he was quick to
position himself at the sharp end of the
results. Locked in an early battle with
eventual race winner Wade Young, Bolt
held a strong second place.
With a couple of small crashes costing
him valuable time, the Husqvarna TE 300i
rider opted to protect his position during
the latter stages of the race knowing the
championship lead would be his with a
second-place result. After three gruelling
hours of racing, Bolt crossed the finish
line for second and with it becomes the
new FIM HEWC championship leader
with two rounds remaining.
For Alfredo Gomez, the event was one
of two halves. Saturday’s SuperEnduro
action proved to be the highlight of the
weekend for the Spaniard. Fast and
confident on the tight and technical
course, Gomez easily advanced through
all of the eliminator heats to take his
place in the four-rider final alongside
Bolt. Hot out of the gate, Alfredo
immediately took the race lead and was
never headed.
For Sunday’s racing, the fast and sandy
whooped out conditions didn’t play into
the Hard Enduro specialist’s hands.
While starting strong thanks to his pole
position, the Husqvarna rider lost ground
in the high-speed sections, eventually
finishing seventh.
Billy Bolt: “It’s been a full-on weekend
with lots of styles of racing. Today’s
cross country race was physical out
there for the three hours. I don’t have
much left in the tank now! I would have
loved to take the win, but second place
is great for the championship and now
puts me in the lead by one point. I
was battling with Wade at about mid
distance. But I needed an extra pit stop
and lost some ground. A crash then saw
me lose sight of him, so I just tried to
play it safe. I didn’t want to make any
more mistakes and lose a position to
Mani either.”
FIM Hard Enduro World Championship
standings (after 6 of 8 rounds)
1. Billy Bolt (Husqvarna) 70pts
2. Manuel Lettenbichler (KTM) 69pts
3. Wade Young (Sherco) 60pts
4. Mario Roman (Sherco) 48pts
5. Jonny Walker (Beta) 44pts
6. Alfredo Gomez (Husqvarna) 33pts