On The Pegs January 2020 - Volume 5 - Issue 1 | Page 93

On The Pegs
MANUEL LETTENBICHLER
VOL. 5 ISSUE 1 - JANUARY 2020
93
2019 Red Bull Override Hard Enduro
December 7-8, 2019
Rocky Ridge Ranch
Decatur, TX
Fresh off of winning the WESS World Enduro Cham-
pionship, Red Bull KTM’s Manuel “Manni” Letten-
bichler dominated the inaugural Red Bull Override
Hard Enduro held in Decatur, Texas. The only rider to
finish on the same lap as Lettenbichler was Beta USA
rider Benjamin Herrera from Chile.
For a Hard Enduro, the Red Bull Override was a bit
unusual in that half of the race was run in the dark.
Three special “override routes”, which the Pro riders
had to take every lap after a certain time in the race,
where lit up with hanging lights so that the specta-
tors could watch some of the toughest portions of
the course. These sections offered a unique risk vs.
reward challenge in the quest to attain victory, giving
the rider an option to take a longer, but easier route,
or a short, and potentially faster route, which was
also much tougher and definitely riskier.
Lettenbichler took the lead early on in the race, fol-
lowed by Herrera and Didier Goirand, as they led the
15 pros into the opening lap.
By the second lap, Lettenbichler was beginning to
pull away, as Herrera, Trystan Hart (RPM Racing), Cory
Graffunder (SRT Husqvarna), Beta USA’s Max Gerston
and Sherco’s Nick Fahringer battled over second.
Sherco’s Quinn Wentzel lost a lot of time when he
picked up a wrong arrow, which brought him back
around to the start.
After six hours of racing (three at night), Lettenbi-
chler crossed the finish almost 17-minutes ahead of
Herrera for the victory.
“It was a really long and tough day,” said Lettenbi-
chler. “Especially in the dark, it was challenging. We