Round five of the FIM Hard Enduro World Championship saw Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Billy Bolt put in a solid ride to cement his position of second overall in the championship with one round remaining. Winning the opening two days of racing, including the event’s prologue, Billy went on to place third overall on his TE 300 on the final day’s main event.
With the FIM Hard Enduro World Championship entering the final stages of the season, Bolt arrived at the Hixpania Hard Enduro in Aguilar de Campoo, Spain eager to gain a strong tally of championship points.
Looking to shine in the opening day’s street race, Billy did exactly that. Mastering the SuperEnduro style course, he topped day one in Spain, despite no championship points being awarded. On day two, he took on the Campoo Xtreme cross-country race. Taking up the lead early on lap one of two, Bolt remained out front for over two hours to secure the win. The victory also earned him three important championship points to make it three qualifying wins from five starts in 2023.
For Sunday’s main event, Bolt was in confident spirits. As the first rider away, he set about putting in a strong ride in the two-hour and 30-minute multi-lap hard enduro. Slipping back to third on lap one, he enjoyed a race-long battle for second place. Losing a little ground on the final lap, Bolt had to be content with the final step of the podium.
With one round of the championship remaining at GetzenRodeo in Germany on November 3-4, Bolt lies second overall in the points standings.
Billy Bolt: “It’s been a solid weekend. Winning the first two days and ending today on the podium has been good. I felt good in my riding all weekend and can take a lot of positives from that. I wanted to fight for the win today, but to be fair, the top two guys were riding hard too. Stopping Mani from winning the title today was always going to be tough. It would have been nice to take the battle to the final round, but he has been on a super high level all year. However, I have strengthened my second place in the standings heading into the final round, so I will do all I can now to keep that.”
Results: HEWC Round 5 – Hixpania Hard Enduro
1. Manuel Lettenbichler (KTM) 11 laps, 2:53:00.378; 2. Mario Roman (Sherco) 11 laps, 2:59:20.688; 3. Billy Bolt (Husqvarna) 11 laps, 3:01:52.138; 4. Wade Young (Sherco) 11 laps, 3:02:32.933; 5. Trystan Hart (KTM) 11 laps, 3:03:01.418…
Championship Standings (After round 5)
1. Manuel Lettenbichler (KTM) 107pts; 2. Billy Bolt (Husqvarna) 81pts; 3. Trystan Hart (KTM) 73pts; 4. Teodor Kabakchiev (KTM) 57pts; 5. Mario Roman (Sherco) 56pts…
