Bolt Undergoes Knee Surgery, Will Likely Miss First Half of 2024 Hard Enduro Championship
Story: Noel Flatters | Editor - Enduro.Media
March 06, 2024
Billy Bolt (Husqvarna Factory Racing) races up the final pitch of the 2023 Red Bull Outliers course to take P2.
Image © Noel Flatters / Superfine Media
WHAT?
Husqvarna Factory Racing announced today that Billy Bolt underwent surgery yesterday to repair knee damage sustained in practice at Round 3 of the FIM SuperEnduro World Championship in early January.
In their press release, Husqvarna passed along that “Bolt went under the knife on Tuesday, March 5 to reconstruct his ACL, repair his meniscus and post lateral corner, and ensure that two identified fractures in his tibia had healed. Thankfully, the surgery went well and Billy has already started his recovery process. Despite requiring several months of rehabilitation, the newly crowned SuperEnduro World Champion has his sights set on returning to competition in time for the second half of the upcoming FIM Hard Enduro World Championship.”
From Billy: “It feels good to be out of surgery and the doctors are really pleased with how it all went. They were able to successfully repair all the damage to my knee and were happy to report the two fractures in my lower leg have already healed up nicely. Unfortunately, as we were already aware, there's quite a long healing process, and I don't want to take any risks. This will mean I miss the first few rounds of Hard Enduro. But all being well, I hope to be back racing for the second half of the season. Huge thanks to the team who patched me up, and of course the fans for their support and messages."
SO WHAT?
Manuel Lettenbichler on his way to the Prologue win at 2023 Red Bull Outliers/Round 5 of the FIM Hard Enduro World Championship.
Image © Noel Flatters / SuperFine Media
It doesn’t take a genius to realise that this will have a major impact on the Hard Enduro championship. Bolt was almost certainly going to be 2x defending champion Manuel Lettenbichler’s (FMF KTM Factory Racing) biggest threat this season. With Trystan Hart’s (FMF KTM Factory) announcement at King of the Motos that he would likely only be racing three rounds of FIM series this season, there is a very clear path for Lettenbichler to three-peat. We reached out to Hart to ask if this might change his plans for the season, and his response was “This doesn’t change anything for me. I have plans for myself this season.” As Hart told us in January, his biggest goal for this year is Erzbergrodeo.
This does make the battle for the overall lower podium positions very interesting. There are a lot of talented riders that will be looking to increase point totals while Bolt is out. It will definitely be interesting to see if Teodor Kabakchiev can improve on his 2023 P5 overall with the support coming from his new team at Sherco Factory Racing. Sherco also has 2023 P4 overall finisher Mario Roman back this year, so it could be a good season for the blue bikes. Former Junior FIM Hard Enduro champion and 2023 P6 overall Michael Walkner (GasGas Factory Racing) is also one to watch this year, especially with Bolt’s absence.
Teodor Kabakchiev in action at the 2023 Red Bull Outliers Prologue.
Image © Noel Flatters / Superfine Media
NOW WHAT?
First, and most importantly, we wish Billy a speedy and successful recovery. Next, we need to remember that the man is a beast. If the overall championship isn’t in play for him this as a result of this, you can be sure that when he comes back he will be HIGHLY motivated and gunning for nothing less than victories as long as he’s able to recover race fitness. It’s going to be a very different looking season from last year, and we’re excited to see who steps up!
