Romaniacs Day 1: Routine makes the difference at the first stage
At the first offroad-day of RBR 2009 it were the experienced riders to score, the strong rookies from prologue were fenced off.
Kiwi Chris Birch, 2007 third and 2008 second in Pro-Class won, slightly ahead of three times RBR Champ Cyril Despres from Andorra. In third sits German Andreas Lettenbichler.

Already before sunrise, the first riders of pro-class took off, facing 155 KMs of racetrack and 15 more as liaison. The track can be described best as “sketchy” and technically challenging, but all still ride-able.

„That was definitely no holiday for the pros today, it wasn’t very long, though, but thanks to the dry ground conditions – and so good grip – the field kept going constantly”, stated organizer Martin Freinademetz in the finish.

According to this, the mood amongst the pro-riders was a good one. Winner Chris Birch (KTM): “So far, everything has been marked very well, I did not have to look at my GPS very often and could ride with a good flow. I’ve had a lot of fun today.”

Second-placed Cyril Despres (KTM) also had some fun after some exhausting moments right after the start: “I got off with a way too hard rear tire mousse, could not find a lot of grip and burned a lot of energy. At the service-point, we managed to fix this problem, and after that, I could get along way better. I haven’t been riding any Hard-Enduro Rallyes for the last two years, and so today has been truly extreme for myself.

Tomorrow, the entire rallye will move on to Petrosani, where also the overnight-bivouac will be held.