Lettenbichler Wins Sea to Sky Hard Enduro
K
TM's Mani Lettenbichler
charged from 15th on the
starting grid to win the 2026 Sea
to Sky Hard Enduro in Kemer, Tur-
kiye, October 8-10. The German
topped Mario Roman and James
Moore in the seventh and pen-
ultimate round of the FIM Hard
Enduro World Championship.
Lettenbichler overcame a
difficult start to the weekend to
claim another important victory in
his pursuit of a fifth consecutive
world title. Brake problems and a
10-minute penalty for restarting
his motorcycle during refueling in
Friday's Forest Race left the Red
Bull KTM Factory Racing rider
15th on the starting grid for Sat-
urday's deciding Mountain Race.
Starting from the third row,
Lettenbichler wasted little time
working his way through the field.
He eventually caught race leader
Teodor Kabakchiev, and the two
battled before Lettenbichler
pulled away on the more techni-
cal sections of the climb.
The 40-mile Mountain Race fea-
tured 16 checkpoints and finished
at the summit of Mount Olympus
(Tahtali), 7800 feet above sea
level. Lettenbichler completed the
demanding course in one hour, 40
minutes and one second, winning
by more than four minutes.
"I wanted to win today, but I
wasn't entirely sure how things
would go," Lettenbichler said. "I
felt like I had to unleash the beast
within and give it my all.
"Starting from the third row, I
had to push as hard as I could.
When I took the lead, I rode
alongside Teo for a while before
managing to pull away. I'm very
happy with the victory and also
for having strengthened my posi-
tion in the championship."
Roman also had his work cut
out for him after a 10-minute pen-
alty in Friday's Forest Race left
him starting 14th. Despite heavy
dust and difficult passing condi-
tions, the Spaniard quickly moved
into the top 10 before engaging
in a lengthy battle with South
WIND
IN THE
P42
Manuel Lettenbichler
topped the Sea to Sky
Hard Enduro in Turkiye.
PHOTOS: FUTURE7MEDIA
