Hixpania Hard Enduro: Bolt ahead of Lettenbichler in 4hr Extreme qualifying race

Billy Bolt topped the results on day two at the 2021 Hixpania Hard Enduro with victory ahead of Hard Enduro World Championship rival Mani Lettenbichler in the Campoo X-Treme cross-country qualification race – video highlights and results.

Campoo X-Treme cross-country race in a nutshell:

• Riders faced a 54-kilometre lap of rocks and hard work on the second day at Hixpania, with an allocated 15 minutes rest between each lap – only the top 10 completed three laps.
• Bolt took the holeshot and, along with championship rival Manuel Lettenbichler, set the pace for much of the four-plus hours riding.

The race start looked like this...

• “A few small mistakes” through the race meant Billy and Mani exchanged the lead but Bolt put in a mistake-free final lap to win by eight seconds.
• Third place went to Jonny Walker but, as is the pattern this season of Hard Enduro World Championship, the lead two were well clear out front – Jonny finished 12 minutes down on the Bolt and two minutes ahead of Alfredo Gomez fourth.
• Sunday’s all-important ‘The Lost Way’ main race is where the points are awarded though and Jonny, like many, knows today was all about making it through inside the top 10 – tomorrow will be a different story.
• Wade Young was fifth ahead of Michael Walkner, Mario Roman, Dominik Olszowy, Travis Teasdale and Will Hoare completed the top 10.
• That top 10 will face a Le Mans style running start tomorrow morning for the main race. They’ll have to leg it away from the starter’s flag to collect their bikes from inside the famous Hixpania cave, before heading off on ‘The Lost Way’ main event which is expected to take around 2.5hrs – all other qualified riders will set off from outside the cave.
• “It’s good to go fastest on both days so far,” says Billy Bolt after Saturday’s qualifying race. “The race today was tough and me and Mani were out front and really close for the whole race. I made a few mistakes out there but managed to stay in front right to the line. Tomorrow will definitely be a challenge, and we know from previous years that anything can happen here in Spain, but things are going well, and I’m feeling confident for another strong result.”
• “It was a pretty good day.” Says Lettenbichler. “I definitely enjoyed the track. I had a good start and then Billy and I pulled a bit of a gap and have been riding most of the time together. When he made a mistake I was in front and then when I made one he would pass me back. It was some good racing on a really enjoyable track.”

• “The race was good despite having a horrible start.” Explained Walker. “Anyway, I managed to push through into third position and basically rode around on my own for two and a half laps. I’m happy with how it went and I managed to save some good energy for tomorrow because I was on my own and I didn’t need to push.”

Hixpania Hard Enduro, Campoo X-Treme qualification race results:

Campoo X-Treme qualification race highlights:

Photo Credit: Future7Media | Andrea Belluschi + Nicki Martinez