Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Manuel Lettenbichler is set to take on round seven of the FIM Hard Enduro World Championship this weekend – the Hixpania Hard Enduro in Aguilar de Campoo, Spain. Lying second in the championship chase, just one point from the top of the standings, Mani will be looking to regain the series lead at this all-important penultimate round.
Taking place over three days in the north of Spain, Hixpania Hard Enduro makes a welcome return to the calendar having been cancelled in 2020. With Covid restrictions still in effect, Friday will see a timed qualification race held on an endurocross course, close to the paddock. This will decide start positions for Saturday’s Campoo X-Treme – a three-lap cross-country held around the town’s large reservoir. Finally, the top qualifiers then face Sunday’s The Lost Way hard enduro, with a Le Mans style start that leads riders into a two-hour and thirty-minute race where no outside help is permitted. The first to cross the finish line following an extra-tough final lap will be crowned the 2021 winner, earning themselves 20 valuable championship points.
Finishing fifth and as top KTM at the 2019 edition of Hixpania, Manuel Lettenbichler comes into the 2021 event hungry to fight for the win. The KTM 300 EXC TPI rider has been on form all year, with a 100 percent podium record, and a win at the notoriously tough Red Bull Romaniacs. With positions almost tied at the top of the FIM Hard Enduro World Championship standings, the German rider knows that a strong finish, with a good points haul, is key to staying in the championship chase and taking the battle for the title to the final round in Germany, late in October.
Manuel Lettenbichler: “I’m really excited to be back racing in Spain and taking on the Hixpania Hard Enduro. The race in 2019 was super tough and for sure, there are a big bunch of guys who can challenge for the win this year, especially with things so tight at the top of the championship. The event looks really good for 2021, it’s a shame that spectators are not allowed, but we’ll try to put on a good show anyway. It’s difficult to set a strategy for any race in hard enduro, but my goal for this one is the same as always, and that’s to give it my best, and hopefully earn some good championship points. It would be nice to get a strong result and head back home for the final round with the championship lead.”
Hixpania Hard Enduro, round seven of the FIM Hard Enduro World Championship, takes place in Aguilar de Campoo, Spain from October 1-3.