2024 FIM SuperEnduro World Championship
Round Four – Romania
The Romanian GP, held in the atmospheric BTArena, is sure to be a memorable one for years to come as the tight track brought drama on almost every corner.
It has been a few seasons since a rider has been capable of defeating the mighty pairing of Billy Bolt and Jonny Walker when it comes to the Akrapovic Superpole, but on Saturday night in Cluj it was Sweden’s Eddie Karlsson with the fastest time and the top grid pick. This great result paid off as Karlsson also claimed the Airoh Holeshot prize and finished fifth overall in the GP: his best result of the year.
Prestige Race One
During the fourth lap of the race, Billy Bolt(GBR-Husqvarna) made a small mistake which jolted his already injured left leg. The Husky rider felt extreme stiffness and pain on every obstacle to follow, and he could do nothing to fight back against a charging Jonny Walker (GBR-Beta) who quickly took control and looked strong around the compact layout.
Despite his intense suffering, Bolt managed to stay in second place on the FE 350, despite numerous falls on the now infamous corner named the “Devil’s Hand”. Bolt managed to cross the finish line ahead of Manuel Lettenbichler (GER-KTM) who made a crazy comeback after falling at the start of the race.
Jonny Walker won the race and laid down the gauntlet for his rivals.
Prestige Race One Results
- Jonny Walker (GBR), Beta, 11 laps, 7:07.645
- Billy Bolt (GBR), Husqvarna, 11 laps, 7:21.009
- Manuel Lettenbichler (GER), KTM, 11 laps, 7:23.827
- Will Hoare (GBR), Rieju, 11 laps, 7:32.146
- Dominik Olszowy (POL), Rieju, 11 laps, 7:35.262
Prestige Race Two
In the second race with its traditional reversed grid, Walker found himself on the front row due to his unfortunate crash in the Akrapovic Superpole. The Beta rider stood a good chance of another race win, but starting from the outside he found himself caught up in the messy early corners.
Mitch Brightmore (GBR-GASGAS) was the pack leader, but he was soon followed by Bolt, while Walker was sitting in third place. It was all change when Bolt was victim to another fall, dropping all the way down to fifth, while Walker managed to overtake Brightmore for first place.
All onlookers assumed that Bolt, with his injured leg and now trailing behind, would not be able to overcome this handicap. However, there is simply no keeping him down and the triple world champion patiently picked off his opponents one by one.
With his rival closing in Walker dropped his bike just one lap from the finish, and Bolt immediately swept through to take control of the race and see the chequered flag first. He won ahead of Walker while Dominik Olszowy (POL-Rieju) showed great form to take third.
Prestige Race Two Results
- Billy Bolt (GBR), Husqvarna, 11 laps, 7:07.496
- Jonny Walker (GBR), Beta, 11 laps, 7:10.431
- Dominik Olszowy (POL), Rieju, 11 laps, 7:31.001
- Mitchell Brightmore (GBR), GasGas, 11 laps, 7:48.825
- Manuel Lettenbichler (GER), KTM, 10 laps, 7:14.947
Prestige Race Three
Before the last race, the two Englishmen were tied (37 points each), meaning it was all to play for in the finale under the lights in Cluj.
Eddie Karlsson once again rushed to an early Airoh Holeshot, while Bolt, Walker and Lettenbichler slotted in behind and became engaged in a superb battle.
With everyone wondering about the physical condition of the Husqvarna rider after such an intense night, the crowd roared when he once again conquered and shot into the lead.
Bolt went on to dominate the last race of the night to take his fourth overall victory from four rounds. Jonny Walker forced once again bow to his compatriot.
Lettenbichler took his second podium in two races on the two-stroke 300 EXC, proving his quick adaptation to SuperEnduro.
Behind this incredible trio were Olszowy, Karlsson, Mitch Brightmore and Rieju’s new signing, Will Hoare (GBR).
Prestige Race Three Results
- Billy Bolt (GBR), Husqvarna, 11 laps, 6:45.093
- Jonny Walker (GBR), Beta, 11 laps, 7:06.612
- Manuel Lettenbichler (GER), KTM, 11 laps, 7:13.515
- Eddie Karlsson (SWE), Husqvarna, 11 laps, 7:31.751
- Dominik Olszowy (POL), Rieju, 10 laps, 6:46.767
2024 FIM SuperEnduro World Championship
Round Four – Romania
1. Billy Bolt (GBR), Husqvarna, 57 points
2. Jonny Walker (GBR), Beta, 54 pts
3. Manuel Lettenbichler (GER), KTM, 43 pts
Thanks to his fourth consecutive overall victory in the 2024 FIM SuperEnduro World Championship, the Husqvarna Factory Racing rider now heads to round five in Budapest, Hungary on February 3rd with a 19-point lead. Will Hoare has been bumped down to 4th overall, as Lettenbichler moved ahead of him by 7 points.
Billy Bolt
“What can I say? I struggled a lot in the first race, on one lap I changed up a gear over the finish line and something really didn’t feel good in my leg. It kind of locked up. Then in the last race the injury didn’t feel too bad and I was able to hang in behind Jonny, I always try and stick behind him and wear him down. It hasn’t been easy with the pain, but I had message from one of my best friends that said ‘You don’t stop when it hurts, you stop when it’s over’ – that really helped me get through tonight. I’m really happy to extend my lead going into Hungary, but I need to do better in Superpole next time because I’m annoyed that I missed the extra points tonight.”
Jonny Walker
“The track was tight and technical tonight and after I messed up the Superpole I was determined to try and get good starts and give Billy a fight. In the first race I was in a good spot and I managed to win, I felt happy with that but I knew I’d be on the ‘wrong’ side of the gate for the reverse grid race and it wasn’t easy. Billy is a machine, and he got the better of me in the end. A difficult night for all of us physically with this layout, but I feel like I’m improving with each round.”
Manuel Lettenbichler
“I’m definitely making improvements and finding more pace at every round. The top two guys are still a little way ahead in terms of speed, but I’m happy with how I rode today. I’m really trying to get that gap down though and in fact, on the first race, I was able to hang on for quite a lot of the moto. The races are just so intense, so physically demanding, but I’m learning and hopefully I can carry the speed and what I’ve learned here in Romania on to Budapest.”
1. Billy Bolt (GBR), Husqvarna, 57 points
2. Jonny Walker (GBR), Beta, 54 pts
3. Manuel Lettenbichler (GER), KTM, 43 pts
Prestige Overall Round
- Billy Bolt (GBR), Husqvarna, 57 points
- Jonny Walker (GBR), Beta, 54 pts
- Manuel Lettenbichler (GER), KTM, 43 pts
- Dominik Olszowy (POL), Rieju, 37 pts
- Eddie Karlsson (SWE), Husqvarna, 31 pts
2024 FIM SuperEnduro World Championship Points
(After Round Four)
- Billy Bolt (GBR), Husqvarna, 239 points
- Jonny Walker (GBR), Beta, 220 pts
- Manuel Lettenbichler (GER), KTM, 153 pts
- Will Hoare (GBR), Rieju, 146 pts
- Dominik Olszowy (POL), Rieju, 132 pts
The MotoZ FIM SuperEnduro World Championship now begins its second part of the season with the Hungarian GP next up on February 3rd in Budapest.
