Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Manuel Lettenbichler made the best start possible to the 2025 FIM Hard Enduro World Championship by winning the Valley’s Hard Enduro in dominant fashion. The defending world champion won the feature race at the Walters Arena venue in Wales, United Kingdom, with an unchallenged lead of two minutes and 16 seconds.
Staged over two days, the Valleys Hard Enduro in South Wales marked the season opener to the FIM Hard Enduro World Championship for Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Manuel Lettenbichler. As the defending world champion, and winner of the race in 2024, the German was eager to get his title defense off to the best start possible on his KTM 300 EXC CHAMPION EDITION.
With championship points up for grabs in Saturday’s prologue, Mani was quickly up to speed in the hot, dry, and dusty conditions. A strong ride saw him place as runner-up in the prologue to claim two important points.
The evening’s Knock Out style races saw Lettenbichler advance through his heats with ease to reach the final. He went on to claim victory in the fast-paced, three-lap sprint.
For Sunday’s main event, Mani knew it was time to get down to business. The super-dry conditions meant dust clouds would be a major factor during the early part of the race. Claiming the holeshot would be key to controlling the pace on lap one.
Focused on his start, Lettenbichler immediately shot into the lead on his KTM 300 EXC CHAMPION EDITION and remained unchallenged for the entirety of the four-lap race.
As the only rider to dip under 30 minutes for the lap, he charged his way around lap one to open an advantage of around one minute on his rivals. Another strong push during lap two saw him increase it to two minutes. Responding to any threats from behind, he maintained a consistent pace to secure a dominant and well-deserved victory.
The Red Bull KTM Factory Racing ace now turns his attention to the iconic Red Bull Erzbergrodeo on May 29 - June 1, before picking up round two of the FIM HEWC at Silver Kings, USA, on June 12-14.
Manuel Lettenbichler: “It’s been a great race. My focus was on getting the holeshot for the main event. I knew that would be key today. I managed to do that and was able to pull a good gap of maybe one minute by the end of lap one. During the second lap, I was a little unsure of where everyone else was. I felt like they were closing, so I pushed harder again. The team told me I was over two minutes clear at the end of lap two, so that was both a nice surprise and a good cushion to have. I was happy with my pace and could maintain that until the finish. Coming into a new season is always difficult to judge where things are at, so it’s quite cool to win like this. For sure, I have things I want to work on to improve, but for now I’ll enjoy this moment.”
Provisional Results – 2025 Valleys Hard Enduro
1. Manuel Lettenbichler (GER), KTM, 2:14:23.88
2. Billy Bolt (GBR), Husqvarna, 2:16:40.35 +2:16.47
3. Teodor Kabakchiev (BUL), Sherco, 2:17:14.23 +2:50.35
4. Mario Roman (ESP), Sherco, 2:18:15.85 +3:51.97
5. Ashton Brightmore (GBR), GASGAS, 2:22:28.39 +8:04.51
Provisional Standings - FIM Hard Enduro World Championship (after 1 of 7 rounds)
1. Manuel Lettenbichler (GER), KTM, 22 points
2. Billy Bolt (GBR), Husqvarna, 20 pts
3. Teodor Kabakchiev (BUL), Sherco, 15 pts
4. Mario Roman (ESP), Sherco, 13 pts
5. Ashton Brightmore (GBR), GASGAS, 11 pts