Mani Lettenbichler wins Sea To Sky Hard Enduro

2024 FIM Hard Enduro World Championship
Round Six – Sea To Sky

Manuel Lettenbichler has taken victory at the 2024 Sea to Sky Hard Enduro in Kemer, Turkey, for Red Bull KTM Factory Racing. Mani’s win further extended his Hard Enduro World Championship out to 17-points with a round to run.

Manuel Lettenbichler – 2024 Sea to Sky Hard Enduro

Action began on the beach on Thursday, with a short series of motos used to decide the start order for Friday’s Forest Race. Despite there being no championship points on offer for the Beach Race, Mani still pushed hard on the Turkish sand, much to the delight of the passionate fans. Finishing as runner-up behind Billy Bolt, Lettenbichler secured a second-place start to day two’s Forest Race.

Held as a qualifier for Saturday’s Mountain Race, the Sea To Sky Forest Race still posed a sizeable challenge to all competitors with its mixture of terrain and technical sections. The 45-kilometre loop, ridden as a time trial, led riders through the forests and rocky tracks near Kemer for close to two hours of hard enduro.

Billy Bolt – 2024 Sea to Sky Hard Enduro

Setting off 30 seconds behind Bolt, Mani soon settled into a good rhythm on his KTM 300 EXC. After taking an early lead, Lettenbichler dropped down to second halfway through the race when a crash slowed his progress. Despite some pain in his right thumb and wrist, he held on to second through to the chequered flag, where he secured two important championship points, and his second-place start position for Saturday’s Mountain Race.

Setting off from the shore, the infamous Mountain Race at Sea To Sky boasts a finish line well over 2,000 meters above sea level at the summit of Olympos Mountain. After making a strong start and leading to the first two check-points, Lettenbichler soon found himself in a four-way battle for the lead.

Times were incredibly tight early on with just seconds separating the riders. As the race climbed out of the forest area and the terrain became tougher, the gaps started to widen, with Mani coming into his own on the steep, rocky slopes of the mountain. Breaking away from his chasing rivals, the defending world champion rode clear to ultimately cross the finish line 13 minutes clear of his nearest rival. Marking his first-ever Sea To Sky win, he also secured his fifth FIM HEWC victory of the season.

Manuel Lettenbichler

“That was a tough one, there’s no doubt about it! Nearly five hours of racing was so, so long. This morning, I didn’t even know if I would be able to ride after hurting my wrist yesterday. I was definitely worried and going into the race I just wanted to ride as safely as I could – trying to save energy, trying to save my body. I think it paid off, because today’s race was seriously hard. When we got to the canyon, there were four of us fighting to get ahead and it was so hot in there. I managed to get out and get ahead, and from there I just focused on staying smooth and preserving myself and my bike. Reaching the finish up here with a win felt really good, and now I can look ahead to the final round of the season in Spain.”

Lettenbichler’s win at Sea To Sky takes him even closer to securing the 2024 FIM Hard Enduro World Championship title. With one round left to race – the Hixpania Hard Enduro in Spain, held October 25-27 – the Red Bull KTM star holds a 17-point advantage at the top of the series standings.

Behind Lettenbichler, Graham Jarvis took runner up, and Mario Roman rounded out the podium, while Billy Bolt fell just short of a podium spot in fourth.

Billy Bolt

“Overall, I’m happy with how today’s race and the Sea To Sky in general has gone. After being out of action for almost seven months, it was always going to be a challenge on my return. The Beach Race was brilliant. Winning it, and enjoying my riding, was a great way to start the weekend. It did mean I had to start the Forest Race first, but I didn’t mind so much. I hung onto the top two guys as best I could and was pleased with third. I knew the Mountain Race would be the big one. It turned out to be longer than any year’s I’ve ridden it previously. In the early sections, it’s key to try and preserve rider and machine. I did that quite well, and was able to challenge for third position, reaching as high as second at one point. But the higher we climbed, the more physically drained I became. To be so close to the podium with fourth, in my first race back, is still very rewarding.”