So I have finally arrived in Sibiu Romaina for the Romaniacs Hard Enduro Rallye. What exactly is this event? Well it has been one I have been wanting to ride since I first heard about it five years ago. Now in its sixth year, the race is a four-day extreme enduro that covers quite a lot of distance, hence the name mixing of the enduro and rally names. It is basically set up using difficult enduro-style tracks but for a longer distance and with the aid of GPS navigation to get through it all. It is a first rider to the finish line wins event with the lowest overall time. The beginning is a prolog in the center of Sibiu, resembling an endurocross course on main street that doesn’t stop there. It goes up into some old building and all the way to the top. This year the rumor is that the prolog will be a head-to-head challenge to determine starting positions. This event seems to be a lot more fun than the torturous races like Erzberg or the Gilles Lalay Classic combined with what looks to be some excellent riding here in Romania.
For my ride, I’ll be race testing a 2010 Husaberg FE 390 which I’m about to go and find, someplace else in the city right now. Like most events overseas, I’m settling in with the jet lag and figuring out all the tings I need to know. Luckily I hooked up with the event promoter Martin Feinademetz and his crew and they are helping me out.
I should be able to get race information up pretty quickly and tracking riders durng the event is really easy this year because we will be riding with tracking devices.
http://www.redbullromaniacs.com/start/livetracking/
The race is pretty stacked with an international field of Hard Enduro specialists and quit a group of riders from experts, expert teams and hobby riders who are all here to take on the challenge of finishing Red Bull Romaniacs.
http://www.redbullromaniacs.com/2009-edition/starting-list/
If you want to get up to speed on the event, check out some of the crazy videos on the web site!
JIMMY
