Wade Young Wins Forest Race of 2016 Sea To Sky

The Forest Race of Red Bull Sea to Sky 2016 took the riders on a time trial in the woods around Kemer. Superb views from various points that were easily accessible attracted a lot of spectators. After the start at the Ayışığı Beach in Kemer the track got more demanding reaching higher altitudes. There were a few sections in the woods that gave the riders and the spectators a flavor of what’s to be expected for the Mountain Race, the main event on October 8, 2016. The track had all the elements you would expect, riverbeds, single trails, rock sections and gravel roads in all variations. Before the riders got to the finish they had to face some manmade obstacles prepared by Andy Fazekas who is the designer of the Beach Race track.

The Race Since the starting order was determined by the results of the prior Beach Race Manuel Lettenbichler was the first rider to hit the track. This is a fairly new experience for Manuel to open the track—it requires more attention to spot where the track actually is leading. Manuel was still ahead of the pack when he got to the 5th of 7 checkpoints. But Wade Young had other plans. Starting 3rd he had a two minutes gap to close on Manuel and pushed as hard as he could. The youngest winner of the Roof of Africa really wanted the top of the podium, he went all in and it paid off eventually. Wade was the first to arrive at the finish but that didn't mean he won the race. Due to the race mode of the Forest Race other riders potentially could have scored a faster time.

It was Billy Bolt (UK, KTM) who brought a lot of emotions from yesterday’s Beach Race. The chain of his bike snapped while he had a massive lead at the beach and he had to start from position 36. Way to go and a lot of riders to pass, but Billy was on fire.

So he arrived at the finish and took the gap jump at an insane speed - which made him land in the turn after the jump. What a big crash - but when he got up trying to get to the finish he realized that his rear tire was destroyed and pushed the bike to the finish. Unfortunately, Billy did not follow the marked track and made a shortcut. Therefore, he was given a penalty of 5 minutes - which put him from #1 to #5 in the end. A tough lesson to learn for the super talent from the UK after the bad luck in the Beach Race the day before.

Manuel Lettenbichler rode an ambitious but also a controlled race and brought his KTM to the finish line concentrating on avoiding mistakes and securing a top ten position. Starting from the 1st starting row in the Beach Race tomorrow is vital since it will be 10 riders per row and the second row will start two minutes after the first one has left.

Third overall was Austria’s Lars Enöckl (KTM)—which didn’t come as a real surprise for the insiders. Lars is a seasoned rider with loads of experience and a job in the KTM development department test riding new models. His experience made him ride fast and secure - the third place in the Forest Race is well deserved!

After a midday break the fastest 150 riders were split up into three groups of 50 riders each for the three finals - primarily to avoid major traffic jams at the manmade obstacles: Final C with the slowest 50 riders ranked 101-150, final B with the medium paced 50 riders ranked 51-100 and the final A with the fastest 50 riders ranked 1-50.

The mode for the three finals in the afternoon is 15 minutes + 1 lap - which doesn’t sound that long but going flat out on a motocross track stuffed with SuperEnduro elements - such as rock sections, tree trunks and water - all over it puts the riders endurance to the test.

When the finals started the beach was packed with a huge crowd cheering the riders especially through the tough sections. And most certainly all eyes were on the last final with the top riders.

It was again Andreas "Letti" Lettenbichler who took the holeshot – just like he did last year. But Billy Bolt (UK, KTM) was truly on fire and caught Letti just at the end of the first lap. From then on Billy pushed massively and had a solid lead when his chain broke—that was it for the 19-year-old super talent who—as almost all other top riders has a strong trials background. Letti took advantage of that and lead the race ahead of an ambitious Wade Young. Wade managed to pass Letti and the battle between the two was on.

But it was Manuel Lettenbichler (DEU, KTM), the 18 years old son of Andreas, who took a better line in the boulder section to pass Young and his father. Letti, who arrived at that section behind Wade, showed his "never give up" mentality and passed the 20 year old South African.

The 2016 Red Bull Sea to Sky Beach Race result is a truly remarkable one: It is the first time ever that father and son both finish on the podium of an Extreme Enduro race of international format!

Wade Young: "It’s been a good Forest Race for me. I was first rider home and first in the overall standings. I wasn’t as smooth as I would have liked but I’m happy enough with it. I managed to pass both Mani and Andreas so my speed was good on the forest trails and that’s definitely going to help in tomorrow’s Mountain Race. There’s no real strategy for the main race. Get a good start, avoid the carnage during the early stages and just keep climbing up that mountain."

Manuel Lettenbichler: "That was my first time leading a race out and it was a cool experience. I thought Wade would have caught me earlier but I led until Checkpoint 5 so I’m happy about that. I tried my best to stay in touch with him but he was flying today and riding really well. However I’m second overall and on the front row for the Mountain Race so that’s great. For tomorrow the plan is just try my best. The most important thing is make it to the finish line but I do feel like I can challenge for the podium. That’s the ultimate goal. A podium would honestly be like a win."

Lars Enöckl: "It’s been a great day. I found a strong pace early on and was able to push hard the whole way around the course. I managed to catch the guys in front of me and once I got around them I was out of their dust and just riding by myself. The course was so nice to ride, perfect really. There’s a lot of guys who believe they can win or podium in the Mountain Race. I don’t think anyone is going to pace themselves. It’s going to be an all-put sprint up the mountain!"

Billy Bolt: "It wasn't ideal setting off in 36th place but I just tried to stay calm and not pass people in crazy places, not make mistakes and try to stay smooth. It was all smooth until that last jump, there was a bit of miscommunication, I interpreted some of the team signaling to wind it on a bit so I did and I went about three times the distance! I landed a bit heavy, my back moose was a bit soft, I could already feel it sliding and I’m guessing the impact on that last jump didn't do it the world of good and it came right off. I’m a bit sore and stiff from that crash but a bit of ice should be alright. Hopefully I'll be on the front row for tomorrow which is the most important part of the race so I'll get rested up and hopefully have a good day."

The Mountain Race The main event of Red Bull Sea to Sky 2016 will kicked off Saturday October 8th at 9:00 a.m. (EEST) at the Beach in Camjuva – the next town south of Kemer. The 2016 Mountain Race track is about 60km long and has a total of three tank points along the way to the finish at the peak of the Tahtali Mountain at an altitude of 2,365m! It will start at the beach again and follow the river bed all the way. As in the past editions there are Bronze, Silver and Gold medals - so there will be nice souvenir for most of the riders to take back home.

This year we’re expecting the top riders to reach the finish of the Mountain Race in 3:30 hours. Within the 7 hours limit still a good amount of participants shall earn the Gold Medal making it all the way up to the Red Bull finish arch.

There will be a live time tracking provided on the Red Bull Sea to Sky website (you’ll find a link to it on the Result page) which will be activated shortly before the start.

Top 10 Results - Forest Race - Red Bull Sea to Sky 2016 October 7, 2016 - Kemer (Turkey)