Billy Bolt tops first day of Minus 400 Hard Enduro

2022 Minus 400 Hard Enduro – Day 1 Report

The 2022 FIM Hard Enduro World Championship has kicked off in Israel with Day 1 of the Minus 400, which saw Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Billy Bolt top the Leonardo SuperEnduro Final, after Sherco Factory Racing’s Wade Young dominated the morning qualifier.

A day of two halves, a morning qualifier saw competitors battle it out for a place in the afternoon superenduro finale. With only 30 places up for grabs in the Leonardo Urban SuperEnduro, all eyes were on the stopwatch as the searingly hot Israel sun put the riders through their paces.

The morning race saw competitors face a 14-kilometre course that would be ridden twice, with the fastest time counting. On the first outing it was Bolt who set the pace ahead of Dominik Olszowy (GASGAS) and Michael Walkner (GASGAS).

With the course improving and speeds increasing, lap two ultimately proved fastest. Finding over two and a half minutes on his opening run, it was Wade Young who topped the time sheets ahead of his Sherco teammate Mario Roman. Feeling he’d done enough to secure a qualification place, Bolt opted out of lap two, but his original time was still enough to take third.

Leonardo Urban Race Qualifier Results

Leonardo SuperEnduro Final

With the evening sun beginning to cool, attention turned to the final action of the day – the Leonardo Urban SuperEnduro. Fired-up to take the win, Bolt wasted no time in hitting the front of the field. Immediately showing his rivals a clean set of heels. Putting on a world-class display of riding, he hammered home the 13 laps to secure a convincing win.

Behind him, the remainder of the podium was being closely fought out. Roman and Alfredo Gomez – on his AG Racing Team 89 debut – were pushing for that runner-up position. Holding firm, Roman held off Gomez to snatch second.

Making an impressive start to his home race, Israel’s Suff Sella put on a strong showing. Battling hard throughout, the 18-year-old brought his KTM home in fourth, with Young in close contention for fifth.

The Minus 400 continues with Wednesday’s Yochananof Desert Prologue.

Leonardo SuperEnduro Final Results

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