Lettenbichler Captures FIM Hard Enduro
World Championship
A
third-place finish at the Hix-
pania Hard Enduro in Spain,
October 26-27, was enough for
Red Bull KTM's Manuel "Mani"
Lettenbichler to sew up the 2024
FIM Hard Enduro World Champi
-
onship.
Heading into the seventh and
final round of the season with a
17-point advantage in the cham-
pionship standings, Mani knew
the title was well within reach,
but he would still have to give it
his all over the two days of com-
petition. Kicking off the action
in Spain, the qualification round
saw the KTM 300 EXC racer
place fourth in a solid start to the
weekend.
Starting in the second row for
Sunday's main race, held in non-
stop rain, Lettenbichler fought
hard from the start and quickly
climbed into second place. A
costly midrace crash injured his
ankle, causing him to slip back
into third, but he battled to main
-
tain his position for the remainder
of the race. Despite being in pain,
and after close to two and a half
hours of intense hard-enduro
action, the KTM rider crossed the
line to secure his sixth podium fin-
ish of the year and, with it, his third
2024 Hard Enduro World title.
"I'm so stoked to have won the
championship for the third time in
a row," he said. "And to get another
podium is pretty cool after such a
tough race. I had a massive crash
in the middle of the race, which
hurt, so I'm glad to have had such
a strong finish anyway. It's been
an incredible season with plenty of
ups and downs, but it has all paid
off in the end!"
Husqvarna's Billy Bolt ran away
and won the race more than six
minutes clear of runner-up Sher
-
co's Mario Roman. Wade Young
(GasGas) was fourth and Graham
Jarvis (Husqvarna) was fifth.
"I'm beyond words with this
victory," Bolt said. "To win here
like this means so much to me.
It's been a tough year with injury
and a long and difficult comeback
WIND
IN THE
P54
Manuel Lettenbichler
wrapped up the 2024
FIM Hard Enduro World
Championship at the final
round in Spain.
