Jonny Walker wins the prolog at Romaniacs: “Feels good to be back!”
The Red Bull Romaniacs Prolog was on fire. It was Jonny Walker (GBR) who demonstrated incredible skill as he seized the victory at the Limitless Prolog. Jonny, probably the most experienced SuperEnduro competitor out on the tracks today, definitely used that to his advantage, He took the holeshot and maintained precision and smooth flow over the obstacles, launching the doubles near the start with ease focusing only on the win. Mani was hot on Jonnys heels from the start but he went down early in the tires after the water allowing Jonny to get a clear lead, which he continued to extend right up until the end with only a few minor mistakes which he easily corrected.
Press release from Red Bull Romaniacs by Susan Mould
Alfredo Gomez (ESP, Rieju) had a slower start and had some close encounters with the wet tires costing him some positions but he managed to push hard and ended up having a solid run flying through the obstacles into a commendable second position. These tires were the main trap for all classes in today’s Prolog, the water trough made the rubber tires slick and they got worse with more water creating havoc for some competitors while also making it difficult for approaching riders to get a clean line through. This is exactly what happened to Mani at the start and then again on a later lap increasing his gap further. Despite a few mistakes and recent injury Mani was able to ride with fluidity and come through the finish in a strong third position. All top three competitors completed eight laps of the Prolog.
Jonny Walker and Mani Lettenbichler on the Limitless Prolog.
Silver Class results, all completing four laps:
First – Oskar Waligora (POL)
Second – Kornel Ott (HUN)
Third – Barry Donaghy (IRL)
Romaniacs legend Chris Birch (NZL) came in fourth position and Pol Tarres (AND, Ténéré) managed to navigate his big bike through the Prolog with cheering crowds into twenty first position completing three laps.
Kevin Gallas (DEU) on his Ténéré 700 in Bronze Class.
Kevin Gallas became a fan favourite in the qualifiers as he finished first on his Ténéré 700 with almost faultlessly clean lines and a lap time of 1m37s.433. The finals he was also caught out by the wet tires after having the holeshot, this lost his valuable positions but he managed to cruise past the lots of stuck enduro bikes and place third.
Bronze Class results, all completed 4 laps:
First – Fernando Pascal (MEX)
Second – Mark Jackson (GBR)
Third – Kevin Gallas (DEU)
Bronze Class at the finishing arch.
Thousands of spectators flocked to Sibiu city centre to watch the Limitless Prolog on the Bulevardul Coposu. Competitors were confronted with an intimidating maze of obstacles, consisting of eighty tons of rocks, eighty tons of logs, concrete, tyres, metal and even some water to cool competitors down on the tracks. Prolog mastermind Andy Fazekas had in mind to shake things up a little this year by having the start line in a new place and competitors following a different direction than the flow in previous years. Andy also doubled the number of obstacles compared to previous years with a total of twenty two giving no relief to competitors from the startline until the finish.
It was the fastest 35 competitors from Gold, Silver and Bronze Classes who qualified to compete in the Prolog Finals which was transmitted live on LEATT LIVEmaniacs and can be watched in replay for those who missed the action.
Jonny Walker set the fastest lap time in the qualifiers of 1m1s.087 followed by Mitch Brightmore (GBR), 1m1s.337 and third fastest was Mani Lettenbichler (DEU, KTM), 1m3s.280.
Jonny Walker: “It was tough but the track was good, the water was difficult, overall I’m super happy with the win, I got a good start had a few little crashes but it was good and I couldnt be happier, its been a few years since I’ve been here and its really good to be back”.
With the final Prolog positions the Offroad Day 1 start positions are determined. It will be Mani out on the tracks first followed by Alfredo in second and Jonny in third for Offroad Day 1.
Gold Podium 2024 Prolog
The Prolog demands almost the opposite skill set to the four Offroad days; speed and endurocross style skills lasting for a short, extremely intense ten minutes, versus the sheer endurance and strength required in the mountainous extreme terrain for anywhere up to 6 plus hours and for multiple consecutive days on the four Offroad Days.
The Red Bull Romaniacs will pass through some of the most beautiful, breathtaking wilderness in the Southern Carpathian Mountains. Competitors will need to navigate their way with the help of their GPS devices, they’ll conquer some of the steepest up and downhill climbs ever, confront their mental and physical exhaustion limits, all in order to reach the Romaniacs finish. Wednesday 24 July will be Offroad Day 1.
Martin Freinademetz: “Looking back to the early days when the prolog was racing on rather fast tarmac with a few obstacles here and there to today when we have a track that is loaded with man-made obstacles which takes a large team and machinery and multiple days of around the clock work, in all weather to build. This year they had extreme heat and downpouring rain storms to work through but I can say Andy Fazekas has once again created an event that entertained thousands of spectators bringing local Romanians from all around into the city centre. The competitors were able to have some good riding out there and now it’s onto the next big challenge of the four Offroad Days with a marathon stage in the middle, so we’ll see what happens”
