Lettenbichler leaves nothing to chance at the Abestone Hard Enduro

Who can stop Manuel Lettenbichler this hard enduro season? At the Abestone Hard Enduro in Italy, the German certainly didn't provide an answer. Lettenbichler already secured maximum points in the prologue and sprint race on Saturday and then added another on Sunday. After two hours in the Gold Final, the Red Bull KTM rider had a lead of more than six minutes over Mitch Brightmore, clinching his fourth world championship victory of the season.

Abestone was anything but a leisurely Sunday outing. Only five Gold class riders completed all six laps. Nevertheless, Lettenbichler set the pace from the very first lap and also set the fastest lap of the race by a considerable margin.

“What a great World Championship race. The track was really good to ride, which made it an intense but also a really good race. Physically it was tough, but I think we managed the weekend very well,” said Lettenbichler afterwards.

However, it wasn't entirely without incident. Towards the end, he fell into the river after, by his own admission, pushing too hard and trying to further increase his lead over Brightmore. With a lead of more than six minutes, he could afford this slip-up.

Brightmore remains Lettenbichler's closest pursuer.

Mitch Brightmore was once again the one who came closest to Lettenbichler. The Briton brought his X-Grip GASGAS home in second place, thus securing his fourth podium finish in the five World Championship races held so far.

Behind them, the battle for the final podium position was considerably fiercer. Teodor Kabakchiev ultimately prevailed against James Moore and Mario Román. Kabakchiev finished third on his Sherco, with Moore following in fourth place, more than four and a half minutes behind. Román completed the group of riders who completed all six laps, finishing fifth.

Moore's fourth place was also an important achievement in the Junior World Championships. The South African earned the maximum junior points and, with 147 points, is now only seven points behind Ashton Brightmore.

Bolt not yet back to 100 percent

Billy Bolt had a much more difficult weekend. The Husqvarna rider finished twelfth and, according to his team, struggled not only with his lack of race fitness but also with illness.

Bolt is still on his way back after a four-month hiatus from racing. His best lap in the Gold Final showed that his speed is still there: it was the third fastest of the entire field.

However, after two hours, the situation looked quite different. "It was a difficult day and, to be honest, a difficult weekend overall. There were some good moments and the bike performed better than expected, but I'm still struggling quite a bit with the speed," Bolt explained.

Interestingly, Bolt himself focused less on his illness and more on his lack of training. Abestone was only his fifth race after a four-month break. "There's still a lot I need to work on and improve. I'm actually looking forward to the short break because we now have two weeks to regroup and put in some work before South Africa."

Twelfth place looks quite unusual for Billy Bolt at first glance. However, his third-fastest lap also shows that this result shouldn't simply be dismissed as a lack of speed. A fast lap and two hours of hard enduro riding after a four-month break are two very different things.

Lettenbichler leads by 24 points

Lettenbichler leaves Italy with 150 points. Mitch Brightmore follows with 126 points, while Kabakchiev is in third place with 94 points. Three World Championship races remain, meaning a total of 99 points are still up for grabs. KTM reports that their lead has increased to 24 points after Abestone.

Next up is the Roof of Africa in Lesotho from September 23rd to 26th. This will be followed by Sea to Sky in Turkey and the Hixpania final in Spain.

Lettenbichler has built up a comfortable cushion with his near-perfect weekend in Italy. The World Championship isn't decided yet – but anyone who wants to beat him currently has to find a way to gain any points on him over an entire weekend.