Enduro is the discipline of motorcycling, involving an aggressive style of riding off-road and on specialized sports tracks filled with logs, boulders, and other obstacles, depending on the complexity of the competition.
Technically, an enduro motorcycle will have longer ratios to give the motorcycle elongation over longer segments. Acceleration will naturally be less pronounced, and idle management will also be smoother and smoother. The tires suit rough and muddy terrain, mainly the massive studs.
This allows better mud evacuation to avoid jamming and better absorption of shocks. But they still perform well on hard surfaces and hybrid circuits. The enduro motorcycle is more versatile, with more general settings and equipment to advance on all types of terrain.
Main facts about Red Bull Endurocross Championship
The Red Bull Endurocross Championship includes many competitions all over the world. One of them is Red Bull Romaniacs.
The four-day Red Bull Romaniacs race takes place in the forests of the countryside in Romania. Some sections of the path are so tricky that even professional racers find it difficult to pass them.
Even the most elite riders reach their limits here. This grueling 600km event is often called «the hardest enduro rally on Earth».
It runs for five days along the most extreme enduro tracks in the breathtaking wild nature of the Southern Carpathians. Former snowboarder Martin Freinademets invented four off-road stages in the Romanian wilderness.
Marcel Hirscher took part in this popular Romanian competitions. «Enduro format is very close to me,» says the athlete.
«This challenging sport requires both driving technique and physical fitness. I love the heat of the competition, so I go to two or three competitions to develop myself, going out on the track with the best or with the pros».
Hirscher will ride in the second main category, Silver, number 207 in MH Racing Husqvarna. The 32-year-old Austrian has been representing the brand since April last year.
Members of Red Bull Romaniacs have a saying:
«Nothing ends until it ends». And that goes for the fourth day of Off-Road, where almost impossible climbs, hydroplaning, and mesmerizing obstacle courses await the participants.
Rules for participants
To perform in Endurocross, it is essential to have good driving techniques and training in thunder. In the middle, everyone thinks that the only way to toughen up is to run frequently. Successful guys have to take part in every championship, every two weeks.
You start to be of caliber in your second entire season. A great driver who only does a few races will get off to a great start. He’ll be on fire in the first two laps. Then on lap three, he’ll start to see stars. Gradually, he will lose his sharpness.
The adversaries will overtake him. Dazed, he will stop at the edge of the track to drink water while wondering what he is doing in this race!
In the Endurocross Superfinal, 6 riders will start per heat, with the 3 fastest participants of each heat advancing to the next round:
- Preliminary round: 8 runs with 6 participants each;
- Quarterfinals: 4 heats with 6 participants each;
- Semifinals: 2 heats with 6 participants each;
- Final: 1 run with 6 participants!
Finishing a race like the Red Bull Romaniacs is a considerable achievement. The first place in the Red Bull Romaniacs Hall of Fame is taken by the legendary 6-time winner Graham Jarvis, who can take his seventh victory.
What is special about Enduro motorcycles?
Enduro motorcycles are similar to motocross motorcycles, although with some significant differences:
- In the first place, they have softer suspensions, since they do not need to make such high jumps;
- Unlike motocross, enduro motorcycles are registered vehicles and comply with the regulations for driving on public roads, since many of the connecting sections are open to traffic; they have larger capacity fuel tanks;
- the engines work at lower revolutions and are somewhat less compressed since a little more reliability is needed.
All this makes them, of course, somewhat heavier, etc. A clear example is the case of Yamaha, with its classic wr250f (enduro) and the yz250f (cross), although almost all brands have both models.
Recognized brands in this discipline in the world of competition are Honda, KTM, Yamaha, Gas Gas, Kawasaki, Suzuki, Husaberg, Husqvarna, Beta, Aprilia, Sherco, etc.