And the winner is … Michel Gau!
Day 7: Final Showdown in Sibiu
3. Red Bull Romaniacs Hard Enduro Rallye, 13.-19. August 2006



Wall rides, wooden ramps, car wrecks, tree trunks and a six storey building – the hard facts of the epilogue taking place in the city center of Sibiu this afternoon. The final showdown after six days of racing was the perfect platform for the riders to finalize the overall standings and entertain the masses of spectators.

In six days of hard Enduro racing, starting last Sunday in the Romanian capital Bucharest, the riders were taken to Sinaia, Sibiu, Petrosani, passing the Danube near Haile Berculane, going back to Petrosani to finally come to Sibiu again. Exhausting and long days, challenging tracks and a beautiful landscape – that is what the riders in the four categories had to survive to finally be part of the final showdown in Sibiu/Hermannstadt.

Late afternoon was show time in Sibiu: the riders of all classes got a last chance to show their skills riding over tree trunks, car wrecks and truck tyres, wooden ramps and a wall ride. A six storey building under construction was the absolute highlight for riders as well as spectators. The riders of the expert and professional class had to take all storeys, with the narrow staircase being a special challenge. After three exhausting rounds the riders still were motivated to show off and entertain the public. What they got for it? A lot of fun and the applause of the thousands of spectators!

It were the Quads to open this showdown, jamming already at the first obstacle and most of the riders taking the chicken line. The riders who faced the challenge going over some of the obstacles got applause from the masses of people lining up along the track. Winning the epilogue in the expert class, team Enduro Austria RT seized their chance to overtake team Motoverde I in the overall standings. When it came to the professionals the crowd was really excited and the riders were fulfilling their expectations. Giovanni Sala was in the lead from the beginning, jumping over the wooden ramp and showing his riding skills in the different sections as every other rider did. As so often in the last days it was Michel Gau finishing first, followed by multi times champion Giovanni Sala and Darryl Curtis. Exhausted, tired and happy this year’s winners were awarded their prizes.

Winners’ statements

Professionals
Michel Gau, quiet as always, just made a point (FRA, 1st): “This kind of race suits me very well and after Cyril’s surrender I saw a chance to win. I’ll be back next year!”

Giovanni Sala (ITA, 2nd): “The race was very, very difficult. After some problems during the week it was impossible to win, my only chance was to compete for the second place. I don’t want to thank Martin too much because he sent us to such difficult places. Just kidding! It was a good experience and training in extreme Enduro.”

Alex Antor (AND, 3rd): “The Red Bull Romaniacs was my first extreme rallye. I came here to finish and I never expected to finish third! Wow!”

Experts
KTM Romania - Emanuel Gyenes (ROM, 1st): “This year’s race was as difficult as last year, but this year we did some trial bike training before. I am absolutely glad to have won again! We’ll take part in the expert class next year again and if we win, we will maybe start in the pro class the year after.”
KTM Romania – Laszlo Olah (ROM, 1st): “The last two days were really hard for me because I had dislocated my shoulder on the fifth day and I could not compete with full power. Thanks to Emanuel we were still able to win!”

Enduro Austria RT – Mathias Weichselmann (GER, 2nd): “We seized our last chance to day – that is great!”

Team Motoverde I – Romeo Dunca (ROM, 3rd): “I am glad we finished. Until two hours ago we were on the second place, but climbing on buildings is not our speciality!”

Hobby
Condor Team – Laurentiu Nedelcu (ROM, 1st): “The track on the hobby route was very well marked, maybe a little too hard, but I think we managed quite well!”

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