Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Billy Bolt was excited to return to the Tuscany mountain peaks in Italy to do battle after winning the Red Bull Abestone round in 2021. Bolt managed to press on with a wrist injury to clinch second place and maintain his championship lead in the FIM Hard Enduro World Championship.
The Red Bull Abestone round marks the half way point in the championship and after a series of qualifications on Saturday, Bolt appeared to be in top form on his TE 300.
Billy Bolt set the pace early during Saturday mornings enduro special tests, pushing hard over the fast paced terrain. He managed fastest in each of the tests, dominating all knockout heats and finishing as top qualifier of the day.
As the riders were flagged away in 30-second intervals for Sunday’s feature 2-lap race, Bolt held prime position and was determined to use that leverage to his advantage. Billy pushed hard early on to open up a gap on the field. Knowing that his ongoing wrist injury would hinder him on the downhills, Bolt used his trial skills to good effect on the technical rock gardens and held the race lead for over 45 minutes.
Slipping to second midway through lap one, he hung onto leader Manuel Lettenbichler for as long as possible, opening up a healthy margin over third place. Controlling that as best he could, Billy ultimately crossed the finish line as runner-up. The result sees him successfully maintain his lead at the top of the championship standings.
The FIM Hard Enduro World Championship continues with round five at Red Bull Romaniacs on July 26-31.
Billy Bolt: “That was a hard race for sure. We knew the course would be difficult, but doing two laps made it even tougher. I’m pleased with second place though. Kicking things off by winning the qualification and straight rhythm was nice. I always enjoy those race formats and qualifying first put me in a strong position for Sunday. Starting out first I knew it was a good opportunity to make some time on a clear track. But with my wrist injury it was hard to hang on during the downhill sections and I just couldn’t push the pace I wanted. When Mani came past, I made a small mistake and lost touch with him. He pulled away a bit and I pulled a gap on third place, so the final lap was about trying to manage that and bring it home safe.”
Results – Round 4, Red Bull Abestone
1. Manuel Lettenbichler (KTM) 2 laps, 4:13:29.553
2. Billy Bolt (Husqvarna) 2 laps, 4:22:19.280
3. Mario Roman (Sherco) 2 laps, 4:41:00.340
4. Alfredo Gomez (GASGAS) 2 laps, 4:51:33.621
5. Matthew Green (KTM) 1 lap, 2:37:23.413
6. Graham Jarvis (Husqvarna) 1 lap, 2:46:30.811…
FIM Hard Enduro World Championship Standings (After round 4)
1. Billy Bolt (Husqvarna) 62pts
2. Manuel Lettenbichler (KTM) 60pts
3. Mario Roman (Sherco) 58pts
4. Alfredo Gomez (GASGAS) 47ts
5. Graham Jarvis (Husqvarna) 40pts…
