My favorite place to ride a motorcycle is in the dirt. Whether that's just trail running on something like Royal Enfield's Himalayan 450, hitting up my backyard's dirt bike track on Niu's XQi3 or Dust's Alpha1, or railing along some single track on whatever has the knobbiest of tires currently in my stable, there's no better place to be.
And that experience, along with the handful of concussions I've had over the years, has always drawn me to the idea of running either the Erzbergrodeo or Romaniacs' enduro races.
For the uninitiated, these are hard enduro races held over a couple days and multiple stages. They're rallies, but held on two wheels and go through some of the toughest terrain imaginable. We're talking boulder gardens, single-track log crossings over rivers, the deepest of deep mud puddles, and incredibly steep inclines on loose surfaces. Basically, they're hell on Earth. And they look fun as all heck, so long as you're just out to have fun. If you're competing like Mani Lettenbichler, well, that might be a different story.
Obviously, I couldn't compete and would likely die somewhere on either course. But now, the two races are teaming up for something that would assuredly see my demise, as they're coming together to make the hardest hard enduro race ever conceived.
My back is hurting just thinking about it.
The new venture ups the ante and calls the race, and subsequent series, the Extreme Enduro Rally and Extreme Enduro Championship. For those wondering what precipitated all this, it's all thanks to KTM's insolvency and FIM cancelling the Hard Enduro Championship.
Speaking about the new venture, Red Bull Romaniacs race Director Martin Freinademetz stated, "Now that the FIM championship series has been discontinued, we have teamed up with Red Bull Erzbergrodeo organiser Karl Katoch and industry leaders to fill this gap. We want to offer an alternative, independent award for the athletes that will allow the sport to continue to thrive and evolve with new awards for the Extreme Enduro Rally and the Extreme Enduro World Championship 2025.”
Likewise, Red Bull Erzbergrodeo director Karl Katoch said, "The Red Bull Erzbergrodeo has been setting the standard for decades, and no other race offers a comparable sporting challenge. By working closely with our partners, we guarantee a fair and globally recognised title award. This ensures that the best Extreme Enduro athletes in the world can continue to compete for a prestigious title."
The result of this partnership, however, will be the continuation of both races and more into 2025 absent the FIM and KTM's sponsorship, with the Erzbergrodeo crowing the "Extreme Enduro World Champion", and Romaniacs crowing the "Extreme Enduro Rally World Champion." More is to come, however, and now's the perfect time to remind myself that I wouldn't be able to hang with these cats.
But I'd try.
