Title Holder, Orange off-road Power - a Total of 150 Participants are Anxious to start the Race4th Red Bull Romaniacs Hard Enduro Rally, 17 - 21 June 2007
Michel Gau, last year's winner, starts the race on 17 June 2007 with riding number 1, just as he announced last August. Dakar winners and specialists like Cyril Despres, David Casteau (both FRA) and Frans Verhoeven (NED) take up the challenge as well as the rest of the 150 participants from 20 nations.
25 Pros from ten nations, 66 Experts in teams of two or three riders, among them also one woman - the Austrian Lisi Mucha, and 58 Hobby riders, also in teams - for the first time the number of participants at the Red Bull Romaniacs has thus reached three figures. How many of the 150 riders will actually reach the finishing line in Sibiu, the European Capital of Culture 2007, after the prologue and four days on difficult terrain? ,,According to what we have experienced in the past years about one third won't reach the finishing line", says Dakar Finisher and Organizer Martin Freinademetz.
Title holder Michel Gau from France is not the only one who rides a machine made in Austria. KTM sends a real off-road armada into the Romanian Carpathians. Besides Cyril Despres - double Rally Dakar (2005 & 2007) and Red Bull Romaniacs (2004 & 2005) winner - also other big names enter the race on KTM machines. Placed 2nd at the Rally Dakar 2007, David Casteu has proved to be on the fast track. His considerable expertise results from experiences in various off-road motor sports disciplines: French Trial Champion (1992), in 1996 and 1997 French vice-champion in the national Enduro B resp. A class, in 1995 and 1997, he successfully finished the classical GLC. Countless places on the podium at various rallies (Morocco, Tunisia, Orient, Phararo, ...) awarded him the title of Cross Country Rally Vice-World Champion in 2005 and 2006.
Frans Verhoeven: Leading the 13th Dakar day ranking he dropped out of the race this January because of an accident. Who once was heading during a day's stage knows how to keep the machine going. The Dutchman can also look back on many years of trial experience which culminates in four Dutch trial champion titles. He also managed to finish the GLC (Gilles Lalay Classic). Moreover he can look back on some years of experience in the World Championship - another all-rounder ready for four days of off-road madness.
Chris Pfeiffer (GER) will perform his spectacular show at the prologue. On the opening day the current indoor street bike freestyle world champion will fire up the audience and heat up the asphalt with his phenomenal stunt show in the centre of Sibiu.
Alex Antor (AND), Chris Birch (NZL), Dieter Happ, Lisi Mucha (both AUT), Stefan Mller (GER), Romeo Dunca and Laszlo Olah (both ROM) - are only some of the numerous well-known Enduro and Red Bull Romaniacs specialists. Most of them will also start at the Erzberg Rodeo in Styria one week before this rally and push themselves to their limits.
On 17 June in the European Capital of Culture 2007 - Sibiu - the fourth hard Enduro Rally through the Romanian Carpathians will start. On the prologue through the city centre the competitors will ride over technically challenging and tricky obstacles and have thus the opportunity to introduce themselves to thousands of spectators and to warm up themselves for the following days. The first ride will start through the surrounding mountains, which offer one of the best off-road tracks in the world. Four straining, challenging days are waiting for the participants in all classes: Numerous single trails and technical tracks, daily stages between 150 and 200 km, river crossings and hill climbs. The European Capital of Culture 2007 will serve as the starting point as well as the daily stage finishing point.
Further information on www.redbullromaniacs.com.