Crabwise From Vampires & Hard Boiled
3rd Red Bull Romaniacs Hard Enduro Rally, August 13th – 19th, 2006

Hearing the word “jungle” one inevitably connects it with enchanting and barely penetrable places of earth’s southern hemisphere. The fact that such landscapes also exist in Europe was confirmed this August by the participants of the 3rd Red Bull Romaniacs – the annual hard Enduro rally, which provides for human barriers and inhuman performances every year.



The schedule included seven days and 1,300 km – a route from Paris (FRA) to Madrid (ESP), away from any fixed roads, imbedded in the untouched nature of the Romanian Carpathians. At the start of this year’s third edition of the rally, which proudly bears the surname “legendary” since the first hour, there were 85 participants from 15 nations (among which 61 should reach the finish). The professionals entered the race as lone fighters and the other categories as teams of two or three. While during the last years there were two categories, pros and team, this year there was also one hobby and one Quad/ATV class available. Tough, tougher, Romaniacs is supposed to be appropriate in either case.

According to an advertising slogan: “is it too strong, you’re too weak”, some participants would have ended the race off the valuation within the week or even given it up. “The fact that it will be tough was quite obvious, however on and off reality just beats the imagination.” This statement belonging to the German Harald Vollmer, first announced as part of the experts’ category, but ending as a hobby rider, is considered as an example of many fates endured during this week. However the enthusiasm for the toughest off-road rally was kept unbroken and the pride to stay involved until the end was written on the faces of every participant, among them three females. The announcement of the Red Bull Romaniacs 2007 (June 17th-24th) could already be started; the interest in facing a second challenge was already expressed by many competitors immediately after the arrival in Sibiu on Friday afternoon.

The rally, its riders and favourites
The starting signal for the prologue was given in Bucharest this year for the first time, the capital of the country. The capital accommodates 2,5 million inhabitants and it houses besides magnificent communist buildings the ex-dictator’s, Ceausescu’s, governance retreat consisting of 2,500 rooms. If the government hadn’t been brought down in 1989, the upbeat of the rally wouldn’t have taken place on this place, on which the ruler of land and people planned the construction of a colossal opera house. However, more than a fundamental landscape covering a surface of ten hectares was not to come into being. “The perfect place for extreme events such as the Romaniacs”, the initiator and organiser of the rally, Martin Freinademetz, remembered his first town visitation last fall. After obtaining several approvals and after working on clearance and assemblies for many weeks, nothing was to get in the way of the kick-off. Natural obstacles were combined with artificial ones and the result was a show-jumping course with dirt jumps, a kicker, a “sea” made of truck tires and numerous jumping passages. Within the valuation categories quad/ATV, hobby and experts the riders performed their show improved with a personal touch. The available chicken line (referring to the possibility to evade difficult obstacles) was barely taken into account, yet all the participants wanted to prove themselves as worthy Romaniacs in front of the exalted public. The double Romaniacs winner Cyril Despres secured himself the victory among the pros, which may be regarded as a déjà-vu experience. The Frenchman dominated the entire rally during the last years and puffed at the hat-trick with his prologue victory and the one of the ensuing stage towards Sinaia. As if the 32-year-old had a foreboding of what was about to come, he introduced his friend and compatriot Michel Gau as powerful competitor already on Saturday. The second place after the prologue confirmed this and after the injury conditioned exit of the double winner, there was again a Frenchman to prove that he was perfectly capable of combining riding technique, endurance, strong nerves and rapidity. „The biggest part of the rally is accomplished, but tomorrow is another day”, 30-year-old Gau still considered with modesty on Friday.


Giovanni Sala a quintuple Enduro world champion and absolute master of this technique was also competing. The Italian proved not only once that he was perfectly aware of what was to come and the fact that bravado is not always the key to off-road success. A highly attractive lesson was held by the 42-year-old in front of the attendee and competitors on the second day of the race. In Bran, the small place which according to the legend is guarded by Dracula’s fortress, a hellish uphill ride facing the vampire hostel was waiting for its conquerors from the professional riders: extreme ascending slope on loose ground, root work and stones as big as a hand on twisting roads. Veni, vidi, vici - was supposed to be the motto of the Italian, who was third at that time. With the sharp look of an “old fox” he chose the “diretissima” for this part of the road, so he avoided any curves and rubble passages. Without falling and apparently light as a feather he disappeared from the crowd’s field of vision.

If there are no Olympic Games planned, the Andorran rider Alex Antor proves corresponding riding abilities. Thus the 27-year-old was crowned as winner of the day of the last off-road stage from Petrosani to Sibiu. “Six racing days are quite much and the rally was tougher that expected. I came here in order to attend the showdown on Saturday, but I finished third on my first participation in an Enduro rally and that makes me very happy!” His forth Enduro rally was disputed by the 24-year-old Austrian Michael Angerer, who learned Motocross riding from Heinz Kinigadner and for whom he decided to go in for the Red Bull Romaniacs. “During the first days I ignored the time a little and actually wanted to achieve more. The track was difficult and I accepted and mastered the challenges of the toughest rally ever!” Two familiar faces, those of the South-Africans Riaan van Nierkerk and Darryl Curtis – in 2005 they became second and third – went into the act among the front positions this year as well. Due to special individual but also common tactics they offered mutual support not only in case of occurring technical problems but also during hard times. “Since Darryl’s hands were covered with blisters, we took it easy. This year the rally included one additional day, which was felt by us and I consider that all competitors got physically exploited.” Place four and five in the final classification show that both team work and also individual valuation function. The German

Stefan Müller (6th), two more South-Africans - Craig Stone (9th) and Dominic Finnis (7th) – and the US-American Kevin Miller (10th) completed the field of pro riders, who kept up during all seven days.

Four winners of the day on the pros’ route reflect the denseness of experienced competitors. Romeo Dunca and Partner Francois Vulliet (ROM), Lisi Mucha with her new team colleague Thomas Fälbl (AUT) and the German team Mathias Weichselmann and Marc Baumgartner took care of an interesting battle within the category of experts. The attempt to make the life and an additional victory difficult to the last year’s winners, the Romanians Laszlo Olah and Emanuel Gyenes, was unsuccessful though. A broken left forefinger of Lisi Mucha, a five hour loss of time of Weichselmann and Baumgartner during the first two days made the whole affair appear not easy at all. The decision on the next podium places remained captivating until the end. On the epilogue day five whole minutes separated the team Motoverde I (Dunca/Vulliet, ROM) from the Enduro Austria RT (Weichselmann/Baumgartner, GER). It was a small chance of three rounds, numerous obstacles such as tree trunks, truck tires or car wrecks; but they knew how to take advantage of them – the German team won the epilogue and pushed itself up to the second place. “Two hours ago we were second, but touring in buildings is not our forte and besides this my chain jumped off”, Romeo Dunca, the first Romanian at the Dakar (2005) was happy about the place improvement from 15 to three after 2005.

Ten Teams gathered at the start, among which three were at the end no longer in the classifications and with Cristina Meier (GER) and Liz Millet (GBR) the female team finished 6th. “Actually we’ve heard about each other and then we met for the first time this spring at a rally and we decided on the spot to gather together at the start of the Romaniacs”, the German female competitor referred to the formation of the team. The recently introduced hobby valuation regarded by the organiser Martin Freinademetz as “a category with future, which already implies some riding abilities and quickly catapults pure beginners to the

saddle.” With Beat Haldimann and Roger Walker Swiss participants were at the start of the rally for the first time. Rank four in the final classifications is quite motivating.

Double-tracked premier at the Red Bull Romaniacs: the category of the Quads/ATVs set the four participating teams from Germany, Greece and Romania in front of a big challenge. On the first day on the route from Bucharest to Sinaia only one team succeeded in reaching the finish before midnight. On the 5th day the Desert Team Pottmes (GER) with Karl Rohrmüller und Josef Kammerer had to face an adventurous abseil act of more than 240 km from Baile Herculane to Petrosani: “All of a sudden the road ended and in front of us there was a gorge. We needed a way out and so we roped ourselves and the quads down!” Ingenuity and creativity – these belong to the Romaniacs as well.

The Route
Ex-snowboard world champion and organiser of the Romaniacs rallies, Martin Freinademetz, spent last fall on his KTM. Searching for routes was his major mission to be accomplished even before winter, so that there would be enough time to upload maps into GPS devices and to obtain all the necessary authorizations. “The bureaucratic efforts regarding the allowance in Bucharest constituted by far the most tedious process. Furthermore we have been working together with the concerning municipalities for years; we distribute flyers and in remote municipalities we even inform people in churches”.

A rally is not dignified with the surname “legendary” out of the blue not even after its first holding. “Since I come to know Martin Freinademetz for quite a time, I know that it will be a tough race”, Cyril Despres knew even before the prologue in Bucharest. On the same day this prediction was to be confirmed, since only few could stick to the appointed riding time to Sinaia and many participants reached the stage finish only after midnight.



“Heavy rainfalls during the previous days made the routes eerily deep. Especially the rearward field had to fight with that. During an outdoor-event the weather always represents an uncertainty factor, to which one can only be responsive. In the course of the rally we arranged for route adjustments and short cuts”, the organisation said. The race lost neither its toughness nor its scenic beauty. Single trails, firm ascending and descending roads, extreme slopes on loose ground, root work, stones as big as a hand or slippery wood were mastered by the participants, on the other hand the magnificent view of the wide land, the untouched nature or river sceneries rewarded the competitors for the whole hard work. Shakes of heads and unbelieving looks were part of the daily schedule. Only after the riders recovered from the exertions of the day and brought their energy level to its normal status, the riders’ camp came to the same conclusion: pure adventure! “A course of human barriers makes one feel proud and is it really tough, the ambition to pull it through starts growing”, one said who has to know it, because in the first place the routes were scouted by him and in the second place for with his participation in the Dakar Rally 2007 there is even a racy challenge of notable mercilessness on Martin Freinademetz’s schedule.

In its third year the Red Bull Romaniacs accumulated twice the valuation categories of the prior years; besides the pros and former team classes (now: experts), at the third edition there were two additional categories: hobby and quad/ATV. “The valuation categories were a success, definitely. Adjusted to the particular riding skills, the participants were charged on all routes and this refers both to the recently introduced categories hobby and quad and to the expert and pro valuations. Those who are able to combine technique with fast riding, have the chance to reach the finish in a reasonably fit way, the rest are at the end of the day also at their physical end!”

Another upgrade happened within the stage course: there was a complete lap on the route plan and not the stellar one of the last years. The rally caravan was set in motion after the starting stage from Bucharest to the Southern Carpathians, leading its riders to Sinaia, Sibiu,

Petrosani, Orsova towards the Danube shore, near Baile Herculane, once again to Petrosani and ended according to the tradition in Sibiu/Hermannstadt.

At the final showdown on early Saturday evening another Frenchmen, successor of Cyril Despres, was crowned as supreme conqueror of the Romanian hell on wheels. Tree trunks, car wrecks, truck tires, wooden ramps and a wall ride had to be overridden, in order to climb a six storied house under construction, which was considered the absolute coronation. Pros and experts had to ride up to the highest storey and the narrow staircase was the most special challenge. Stefan Müller missed the landing at the “entrance” of the house and landed ungentlemanly but uninjured some metres underneath. After three rounds and some spectacular jumps and lifts later there was Michel Gau, who came first to the finish, just like during the last days, closely followed by the multiple world champion Giovanni Sala and the South African Darryl Curtis. “I’m very fond of this kind of race and after Cyril had to give up, I spotted the chance to win. I’ll come back next year as well”, the 30-year-old semi-pro clearly announced.

Quo vadis, Romaniacs?
The organisation team of the Red Bull Romaniacs has already come up with new sophistry. The date has been considerably rescheduled: the week between the 17th and the 24th of June 2007. “On the programme there are four off-road days and the decision whether there will be a prologue or an epilogue must first be reached.” With immediate effect the work on a new route is going to start, and the marking of the high situated places has to take place already in fall”, the inexhaustible Marin Freinademetz considers. The whimsical glow in his eyes predicts repeated chicanes and torments; snow fields represent the cue for the forthcoming ride through the Romanian Carpathians. New challenges, extreme roadway arrangements and scenic feasts for the eyes are fixed elements. If you fancy the words of this year’s participants – and you do that while looking in the weary faces – then the Red Bull Romaniacs ranks among the front places on the list of the toughest Enduro rallies worldwide.

Final Results
Pro
1. Michel Gau (FRA)
2. Giovanni Sala (ITA)
3. Alex Antor (AND)

Experts
1. KTM Romania – Laszlo Olah/Emanuel Gyenes (ROM)
2. Enduro Austria RT – Mathias Weichselman/Marc Baumgartner (GER)
3. Motoverde I – Romeo Dunca/Francois Vulliet (ROM)

Hobby
1. Condor Team – Misu Ioanitescu/Sorin Cristea/Nedelcu Laurentiu (ROM)
2. Csiki 2000 Euro – Bagoly Botond/Feltermeister Zsoli (ROM)
3. Enduromania – Michael Holtz/Ulrich Denzer (GER)

Quad/ATV
1. Neubert Racing B Team – Jens Zimmermann/Nicky Neubert (GER)
2. Desert Team Pottmes – Karl Rohrmüller/Josef Kammerer (GER)
3. Africa Team Milonas – Ioannis Emvalomenos/Savvas Milonas (GRE)