DIRT NEWS
BOLT WINS TENESSE TKO
Britain ’ s Billy Bolt has bounced back to win round five of the FIM Hard Enduro World Championship , the Red Bull TKO in the USA . Hot on the heels of round four in Romania , high humidity mixed with an intense race format and rough , rocky terrain , ensured round five was anything but an easy ride . A Saturday evening Straight Rhythm prologue kicked things off . Immediately on pace , Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing ’ s Billy Bolt was up to speed as he topped the multi-heat format over GASGAS Factory Racing ’ s Taddy Blazusiak , with Vision Track Beta ’ s Jonny Walker third . A Sunday morning Hot Lap qualifier determined the starting order for the first of two TKO races , where the field of 60 riders would be whittled down to 30 and then finally down to 15 for the 45-minute Final Knockout . While Red Bull KTM Factory Racing ’ s Manuel Lettenbichler was fastest in the Hot Lap , Bolt had the measure of everyone by comfortably winning both times out . The opening TKO Race didn ’ t deliver many surprises as the top riders safely made it through , but second time out ,
Blazusiak was one of the top players not to make the 15-rider cut for the final . Lining up for an intense Final Knockout , Lettenbichler quickly got his wheel in front and led the opening lap before Bolt took over . The duo were close throughout until a tricky hill climb caught Bolt out , letting Lettenbichler back in front . With just one lap to go , Lettenbichler had the victory in his grasp , but Bolt refused to back down , and with time running out he made one last push to secure the win by just two seconds . “ After winning the two qualifiers , I got out to a good lead in the final and felt in control until I messed up the hill climb in the closing stages ,” Bolt said . The next round in the eight stop FIM Hard Enduro World Championship series heads to Poland for the HERO Challenge on September 11-12 , which sees elements of SuperEnduro , cross-country and motocross combined with the Hard Enduro format for a truly unique event .
96 KIWI RIDER