Walker wins Offroad Day 2
Romaniacs 2013
Click here for Day 2 Highlights
Walker wins and Gomez delivers most remarkable performance. Sean Clarke leads the Expert Class and Chris Birch lies 6th in the Pro Class.
Sibiu, Romania, July 4th , 2013 – After the “shock and awe” rider-wakeup-call on Wednesday, things became a bit easier for riders on Offroad Day 2. Especially the high speed faction of the world`s best extreme Enduro riders was able to use today`s fast paced track to their favor and re-arrange the leaderboard. This high-speed party would have been a field day for multiple Enduro world champion Cervantes, but he decided to take it easy today and did not start. The fastest times of the day were by Walker, Gomez and Lettenbichler. The latter proved his versatility by delivering constant results over two completely different offroad days (despite a lost kickstarter today) and will be one to watch for the podium. Letti was followed all morning by Alfredo Gomez, a Red Bull Romaniacs Rookie. The Husaberg factory rider with starting number 16 already displayed stunning riding skills over the last three days and seems to be unwilling to settle just for the podium. The talk of the day was, that he might want to go for the win and that he has a strategy in place to make it happen. He was following Letti all morning and once the German caught up with Jarvis, Gomez switched his “guide” and tagged along for the rest of the day with Jarvis. And even though he had multiple opportunities to pass, Gomez kept Jarvis in front of himself to benefit from his experience. Graham Jarvis had his own problems to worry about today: He was seen struggeling with navigation problems and received a 15 minutes penalty, losing some of the precious lead he achieved yesterday. Jarvis finshed 5th.
One of the top-performances of the day was delivered by Jonny Walker, who ended the race-day with a victory and a 2 minutes lead over the 2nd place. Walker, who came to Sibiu to win the 10th edition of the Red Bull Romaniacs, had struggled in the “shock and awe” treatment of Offroad Day 1 and with his 4th place. He is still aiming for a place on the podium.
The toughest bunch of riders so far seem to be the three Red Bull Romaniacs girls Vroni Dallhammer (AUT), Sorina Sandu (RO) and Ulla Gorber (GER). The three of them hurt themselves riding: Sorina damaged a finger, Vroni got hit in the face by rock and Ulla twisted her foot. But they are in good spirits, continuing to have fun and are a 100% committed to finish the race! Respect.
The Offroad Day 2 was not only a fast paced racing day - it was also one of the most beautiful and spectacular tracks. The course led the riders through beautiful mountain ranges towards the overnight bivaouc in Petrosani, were it finished with the long-anticipated “factory ride” in an active coal mine! Dan Hemmingway: “The Red Bull Romaniacs might be the toughest hard enduro rallye in the world - but it is also the coolest: where else can you finish on top of a 12 story building?” Before finishing on the roof, the riders had to pass a labyrinth of coal-blackened stairways and ramps through the factory, creating unforgettable memories. Click here for some Day 2 photos
Accordingy, all riders had broad smiles on their faces after finishing another perfect day with sunny weather and nevertheless extremely demanding riding in the mountains around Sibiu, Romania!
New Zealand Riders competing had their ups and downs. Their results are as follows:
Pro Class Overall
6th Chris Birch (6th Day 2)
20th Adrain Broughton (21st Day 2) - up from 27th.
Expert Single
1st Sean Clarke (1st Day2) - up from 3rd.
5th Kevin Archer (17th Day 2) - down from 1st
15th Greg Delatour (33rd Day 2) - up from 17th
24th Mark Delatour (48th Day 2) - down from 18th
32nd Mark Newton (34th Day 2) - down from 27th
39th Raymond Lempriere (42nd Day 2) - up rom 46th
51st David Lacey (51st Day 2) - up from 61st
52nd Mark Auld (36th Day 2) - up from 62nd
53rd Chris Hilton (66th Day 2) - up from 59th
68th Dougy Herbert (89th Day 2) - down from 5th
Expert Team
10th Duncan & Tony McLaren (16th Day 2) - down from 7th
Hobby Single
40th Warwick Batley (34th Day 2)
Hobby Team
16th Glenn Morgan & Steven Huzzy (15th Day 2)
Click here for some Day 2 photos
