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The 19th edition of the Red Bull Romaniacs, one of the world's toughest hard enduro rally, will take place between July 26 - 30; in keeping with tradition, a prologue on man-made obstacles will take place in the center of Sibiu City, the organizers said in a release.
Conceived under the slogan In Madness We Trust, this year's competition will see 2018 Dakar Rally winner Matthias Walkner of Austria taking the start in the Red Bull Romaniacs on a bike designed for desert conditions.
Red Bull Romaniacs has adjusted its format to cope with the difficulties of the last two years and carried on, offering motorsport enthusiasts around the world the same spectacular images they have become accustomed to. Last year alone, the rally organized in Romania was broadcast on television in over 50 countries in a total of 633 hours of transmission.
The prologue, the urban show on Coposu Boulevard in Sibiu, where the starting order for the first of the four days of off-road race is established, will take place on July 26; the finals are scheduled to start at 17:00 hrs. Bronze class riders will be the first to hit the tracks, and this year the spectators will enjoy a special treat, as winner of the 2018 Dakar Rally and double world rally-raid champion Matthias Walkner will make his debut in Romania, competing in this class on a KTM 450 Rally Factory motorcycle, the same model he rode at the event in Saudi Arabia in January. Pol Tarres, who has already seen how difficult riding a heavy bike on the winding and steep routes of the Romaniacs is, will line up in the Bronze class on a Yamaha Tenere 700.
Red Bull Romaniacs is the fifth round this season of the World Hard Enduro Championship and is the competition gathering most nations at the start - over 50. Enduro racers from both Europe and countries such as Canada, the US, South Africa, New Zealand, Fiji, Guatemala, Mexico, Japan, South Korea or Indonesia will hit the Romaniacs trails. The UK leads by the number of registered competitors, with no less than 112 "Romaniacs" signed up in the race.
The Romaniacs rally has become world-famous since its first edition, in 2004, not only for the difficulty of the trail, but also for the endurance and tenacity one needs to cross the finish line at the end of the five-day race. Every year the organisers propose new surprises, and this time it's a night spent in the Ranca resort - Valcea County, between the second and the third day of the off-road race. This segment of the course will see the bikers running at over 2,000 meters of altitude.
Gold class competitors (the most difficult in the rally) will travel routes that are new to them, and this could be an advantage both for Germany's Manuel Lettenbichler (KTM), who is in the position to win his fourth title in Romania, and for British legend Graham Jarvis (Husqvarna), who was forced to retire last year due to an injury sustained on day two of the competition. Battling for a Top 5 position will also be veterans Wade Young (South Africa, Sherco), Mario Roman (Spain, Sherco), Alfredo Gomez (Spain) and Taddy Blazusiak (Poland, Gas Gas). Chris Birch, the 2010 winner who made it to the podium five times, has decided to return this year and will compete in the Silver class on a KTM 500 EXC bike. Taking on the Silver class will also be Mani Gyenes from Satu Mare, the world's only enduro racer to cross the finish line in all 18 Red Bull Romaniacs editions.
On Monday, July 25, at 13:30, competitors from all countries and from all categories will roll on the streets of Sibiu's historic center in the Parade of Nations, with rally founder Martin Freinademetz and prologue mastermind Andy Fazekas leading the Gold class. This is a unique opportunity for fans, friends and technical support teams to photograph and film their favorite daredevils in iconic places in Sibiu, such as the Bridge of Lies or the Council Tower. The parade will end on Coposu Boulevard, where at 13:45, the Gold class competitors will put up a short show for the media, tackling the prologue obstacle race; this act will be followed by a press conference.
A limited edition of 2,500 non-fungible tokens will be issued through romaniacs.org, making Romaniacs a pioneer in the NFT and hard enduro world. 5 percent of the proceeds will be directed to the charity project Enduro for Romania and 5 percent to the top 10 competitors in the Gold class. AGERPRES
