2024 FIM SuperEnduro World Championship
Round Five – Budapest, Hungary
Making it five overall victories in a row, Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Billy Bolt topped the podium at the fifth round of the FIM SuperEnduro World Championship in Budapest, Hungary. Securing three races wins from three starts on the night on his FE 350, the defending world champion extended his championship lead to 33 points.
Prestige Race One
Billy Bolt was quick on the gate drop to score the holeshot ahead of Manuel Lettenbichler while Jonny Walker was caught up in the pack.
Walker eventually fought his way forward and eventually got the better of Lettenbichler for second place, who then went down trying to chase the leading duo. Letty’s crash opened the door for Diogo Vieira (POR-GASGAS), and the Portuguese rider was in for a big night, moving into a strong third in the race and never looking back.
At the front, Billy Bolt appeared to be on for a trouble-free run to the finish line but there was huge drama in store for the championship leader… while the Brit was closing in to lap Lettenbichler, the KTM rider dropped his bike in the matrix. The triple World Champion had no choice but to spectacularly leap over the stricken German and his machine. The factory Husqvarna rider scared himself by falling heavily on his already injured left leg, but both riders rejoined the race. Despite the pain, Bolt went on to secure the victory ahead of Walker and Vieira.
Prestige Race One Results
- Billy Bolt (GBR), Husqvarna, 12 laps, 7:17.091
- Jonny Walker (GBR), Beta, 12 laps, 7:29.898
- Diogo Vieira (POR), GASGAS, 12 laps, 7:43.224
- Mitchell Brightmore (GBR), GASGAS, 12 laps, 7:55.692
- Manuel Lettenbichler (GER), KTM, 11 laps, 7:20.187
Prestige Race Two
Portugal’s Diogo Vieira snatched the Airoh Holeshot and remained at the head of the field for a decent length of time before Billy Bolt got the better of him and raced away to victory.
Vieira was left to battle a feisty Dominik Olszowy (POL-Rieju) to secure second place. The Pole began to make mistakes, leaving Vieira to take second place.
The big disappointment in this second bout was Jonny Walker, who failed to climb higher than fifth position. Lacking rhythm and a victim of several falls, the 2023 Vice-World Champion was left feeling frustrated.
Prestige Race Two Results
- Billy Bolt (GBR), Husqvarna, 11 laps, 6:35.545
- Diogo Vieira (POR), GASGAS, 11 laps, 6:55.507
- Mitchell Brightmore (GBR), GASGAS, 11 laps, 6:58.254
- Manuel Lettenbichler (GER), KTM, 10 laps, 6:39.761
- Jonny Walker (GBR), Beta, 10 laps, 6:47.852
Prestige Race Three
Jonny Walker took the Airoh Holeshot in front of Bolt and Lettenbichler but again it was Bolt that forged his way to the front before going on to take the final race victory of the night by 13-seconds over his compatriot. Lettenbichler rounded out the podium
Diogo Vieira fell very early on but with the idea of a maiden overall podium on his mind, he launched an incredible comeback. From last place Vieira patiently overtook his opponents one by one and climbed back to a respectable sixth place. A position sufficient to guarantee him his first MotoZ FIM Enduro World Championship podium.
Prestige Race Three Results
- Billy Bolt (GBR), Husqvarna, 12 laps, 6:55.701
- Jonny Walker (GBR), Beta, 12 laps, 7:08.635
- Manuel Lettenbichler (GER), KTM, 12 laps, 7:12.845
- Mitchell Brightmore (GBR), GASGAS, 11 laps, 6:52.802
- Eddie Karlsson (SWE), Husqvarna, 11 laps, 6:58.692
- Diogo Vieira (POR), GASGAS
2024 FIM SuperEnduro World Championship
Round Four – Romania
In the championship standings, Billy Bolt is starting to build an insurmountable advantage, the Brit is now 33 points ahead of Jonny Walker.
1. Billy Bolt (GBR), Husqvarna, 62 points
2. Jonny Walker (GBR), Beta, 48 pts
3. Diogo Vieira (POR), GASGAS, 42 pts
Manuel Lettenbichler consolidated his third place in the standings over Will Hoare who had a very tricky night with seventh overall.
Billy Bolt
“I’m massively pleased with my riding tonight. From the get-go I felt good on the track and I really wanted to deliver a good result. With three wins from three starts, I can’t really ask for more from myself. Of course I’m still managing my knee injury from round three in Germany, but I’ve learned how to deal with it. Naturally there were some moments out on track during the evening, but that’s part of the sport. Overall my starts were solid and I grew stronger with each race. With two rounds remaining, I’ll keep chipping away at things and be ready for Bulgaria.”
Jonny Walker
“I felt good and I was happy with the track, but when it came to racing I just really struggled. The first race wasn’t too bad but it felt slippery like I was losing the front, and then I got a bit of armpump too. The second race was an absolute nightmare for me – I must have crashed four or five times and I had some collisions too. I turned it around a bit in the last race, but Billy was on fire again. Let’s see what happens in the next rounds.”
Manuel Lettenbichler
“I’m pretty happy with how tonight has gone! Speed-wise, my riding was good, but I just made a few mistakes with line choices, especially in the first race. I had good pace, but when someone crashed in front of me, it was tough to settle back into a good rhythm. In the second moto I fought back from pretty much last to fourth, which was good. I feel like we could see the speed was there in the last race and that the changes we made to the bike are helping. For my championship position, today has helped me strengthen third overall.”
Prestige Overall Round
- Billy Bolt (GBR), Husqvarna, 62 points
- Jonny Walker (GBR), Beta, 48 pts
- Diogo Vieira (POR), GASGAS, 42 pts
- Mitchell Brightmore (GBR), GASGAS, 41 pts
- Manuel Lettenbichler (GER), KTM, 40 pts
2024 FIM SuperEnduro World Championship Points
(After Round Five)
- Billy Bolt (GBR), Husqvarna, 301 points
- Jonny Walker (GBR), Beta, 268 pts
- Manuel Lettenbichler (GER), KTM, 193 pts
- Will Hoare (GBR), Rieju, 171 pts
- Dominik Olszowy (POL), Rieju, 157 pts
The MotoZ FIM SuperEnduro World Championship next heads to Bulgaria on February 24.
Source: MCNews.com.au