Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Manuel Lettenbichler has claimed a hard-fought victory at Sea To Sky in Kemer, Turkey – round six of the 2024 FIM Hard Enduro World Championship. The winning result sees the KTM 300 EXC racer extend his advantage at the top of the series standings to 17 points with one round left to race.
Action began on the beach on Thursday, with a short series of motos used to decide the start order for Friday’s Forest Race. Despite there being no championship points on offer for the Beach Race, Mani still pushed hard on the Turkish sand, much to the delight of the passionate fans. Finishing as runner-up behind Billy Bolt, Lettenbichler secured a second-place start to day two’s Forest Race.
Held as a qualifier for Saturday’s Mountain Race, the Sea To Sky Forest Race still posed a sizeable challenge to all competitors with its mixture of terrain and technical sections. The 45-kilometer loop, ridden as a time trial, led riders through the forests and rocky tracks near Kemer for close to two hours of hard enduro.
Setting off 30 seconds behind Bolt, Mani soon settled into a good rhythm on his KTM 300 EXC. After taking an early lead, Lettenbichler dropped down to second halfway through the race when a crash slowed his progress. Despite some pain in his right thumb and wrist, he held on to second through to the checkered flag, where he secured two important championship points, and his second-place start position for Saturday’s Mountain Race.
Setting off from the shore, the infamous Mountain Race at Sea To Sky boasts a finish line well over 2,000 meters above sea level at the summit of Olympos Mountain. After making a strong start and leading to the first two checkpoints, Lettenbichler soon found himself in a four-way battle for the lead.
Times were incredibly tight early on with just seconds separating the riders. As the race climbed out of the forest area and the terrain became tougher, the gaps started to widen, with Mani coming into his own on the steep, rocky slopes of the mountain. Breaking away from his chasing rivals, the defending world champion rode clear to ultimately cross the finish line 13 minutes clear of his nearest rival. Marking his first-ever Sea To Sky win, he also secured his fifth FIM HEWC victory of the season.
Manuel Lettenbichler: “That was a tough one, there’s no doubt about it! Nearly five hours of racing was so, so long. This morning, I didn’t even know if I would be able to ride after hurting my wrist yesterday. I was definitely worried and going into the race I just wanted to ride as safely as I could – trying to save energy, trying to save my body. I think it paid off, because today’s race was seriously hard. When we got to the canyon, there were four of us fighting to get ahead and it was so hot in there. I managed to get out and get ahead, and from there I just focused on staying smooth and preserving myself and my bike. Reaching the finish up here with a win felt really good, and now I can look ahead to the final round of the season in Spain.”
Lettenbichler’s win at Sea To Sky takes him even closer to securing the 2024 FIM Hard Enduro World Championship title. With one round left to race – the Hixpania Hard Enduro in Spain, held October 25-27 – the Red Bull KTM star holds a 17-point advantage at the top of the series standings.
Provisional Results – 2024 Sea To Sky
1. Manuel Lettenbichler (GER), KTM, 4:43:22.26
2. Graham Jarvis (GBR), Husqvarna, 4:56:39 +13:17
3. Mario Roman (ESP), Sherco, 4:57:17 +13:55
4. Billy Bolt (GBR), Husqvarna, 5:07:20 +23:58
5. Francesc Moret (ESP), Sherco, 5:10:46 +27:24
Provisional standings - FIM Hard Enduro World Championship (after 6 of 7 rounds)
1. Manuel Lettenbichler (GER), KTM, 112 points
2. Wade Young (RSA), GASGAS, 95 pts
3. Mario Roman (ESP), Sherco, 91 pts
4. Teodor Kabakchiev (BUL), Sherco, 82 pts
5. Mitch Brightmore (GBR), Husqvarna, 60 pts