SuperEnduro Championship - Bolt is Unbeatable!
Story: Noel Flatters | Editor - Enduro.Media
March 03, 2024
Billy Bolt Wins 7 of 7 Rounds to win the 2024 FIM SuperEnduro Championship
Image courtesy Husqvarna Motorcycles GmbH Media and Public Relations
Billy Bolt (Husqvarna Factory Racing) came home to Newcastle on Saturday night and walked away with his 4th SuperEnduro World Championship title in front of the homt
WHAT?
Billy Bolt (Husqvarna Factory Racing) came home to Newcastle on Saturday having effectively clinched the FIM SuperEnduro Championship, and in front of his hometown fans he sealed the deal with another 1-1-1/P1 + Super pole victory. As we wrote last week after Bolt won GP Bulgaria, “With a maximum 63 points available (in Newcastle) it’s still mathematically possible for (Jonny) Walker to win, but over here in the real world… That ain’t gonna happen.” This was Bolt’s 4th SuperEnduro World Championship overall victory.
Jonny Walker (Beta) had what he would probably characterise as disappointing night going 2-3-3/P2 on night when, having already clinched 2nd overall, he had nothing to lose on track.
Mani Lettenbichler (FMF KTM Factory Racing) put down a solid P3 result, which was enough to give him 3rd overall in the series.
Ashton Brightmore (TTR Racing) went 1-1-1 in the Junior class for the second straight round to win a very well deserved Series championship.
Billy Bolt rocking his special edition Newcastle kit on his way to his 4th SuperEnduro World Championship.
Image courtesy Husqvarna Motorcycles GmbH Media and Public Relations
SO WHAT?
Bolt was simply unstoppable through the series. Even after suffering what was a significant left leg/knee injury during warmups at the third round Germany, the Brit was still able win every round of the Championship. To put into perspective, he only lost THREE motos out of the 21 raced in the series, with only one of those losses coming before his injury. There can be no question that this was utter domination of a talented field. Any doubt as to if he was going to win the overall this year were effectively ended after Round 4 in Romania when he came through with a 2-1-1/P1 victory. There had been concern after his Round 3 injury in Germany that the damage to his leg/knee might force him off the bike to save his outdoor season, but his Round 4 performance ended that concern. Here’s our perspective from our Round 4 recap…
“Let’s be honest with ourselves here, shall we? It’s going to take a disaster for Bolt lose a round in this year’s Championship. The man is riding with a badly injured left knee/leg for the past two rounds, and STILL nobody has a real answer for him. Yes, Jonny Walker rode well in Romania, and has picked up moto wins here and in the previous round at GP Germany, but Bolt is clearly the class of the field. A nineteen point lead over Walker may not seem like a lot with three rounds left to go, but until someone proves that they can actually beat the man in one round… It. Is. Over.”
Well, no-one could and it was over. It’s almost unbelievable that no-one, especially Jonny Walker, was able to pick up a Round win after the injury. This SuperEnduro championship will deservedly be a big part of the legend of Billy Bolt when the time comes that he decides to hang up his boots.
Jonny Walker is, as we keep stating, an exceptionally talented rider and a great person. We still can’t quite wrap our heads around why he wasn’t able to pick up wins after Bolt’s injury. One of the points we have to consider is that Walker is still riding a privateer program. Here’s what Walker had to say after it was all over in Newcastle:
“I feel like I’m riding well, and I just need to change a few things, get rid of a few mistakes. I’m really looking forward to next year, and I’ll be giving it my all. I’m hoping to have a bit more support from Beta next year, it’s been tough being a privateer, but overall I’m pleased with how things have gone. All credit to Billy, he’s a beast and was just unbeatable.”
If Beta provided Walker with full factory support would he have a better chance? It certainly wouldn’t hurt! Walker’s comment on needing to get rid of a few mistakes runs very true. His biggest issue in both the EnduroCross and SuperEnduro series were unforced errors that put him into tough positions and, perhaps, a negative mindset at critical points.
Manuel Lettenbichler had his best starts of the season in Newcastle on his way to P3 on the night and in the Championship.
Image © Future7Media - KTM Media Library
Mani Lettenbichler had a rough start to the SuperEnduro season, but after making a bike change and getting back into the rhythm of indoor racing the Hard Enduro world champion picked up the pace in the second half of the series. Notably, Lettenbichler experience success in the final two rounds on faster tracks. Speed in transition had been a weak point in the first five rounds, so it was good to see this step forward for him.
Ashton Brightmore secured the 2024 overall title with a 1-1-1/P1 win in Newcastle.
Image courtesy SuperEnduro.org
In the Juniors, Ashton Brightmore came on very strong in the second half of the series and looked every bit the rising superstar that he’s become. Brightmore found a way to assert his dominance over a very strong field in the Junior class. In Newcastle he was assessed a two minute penalty after his victory ghost-ride at the finish of Moto 3, and he STILL won the round. A look at the data from Newcastle shows that Brightmore would have had the 4th fastest lap time in the Pro class for Moto 2, and the 3rd fastest lap time in Pro for Moto 3. This 17 year-old is an incredible talent!
NOW WHAT?
With the SuperEnduro season wrapped up we can start to look ahead to the outdoor season kicking into high gear over in Europe and around the world. Next weekend we have several national Enduro and Off-road championship races, and we’re just about a month away from the start of the 2024 FIM Enduro GP World Championship kicking off in Portugal. The FIM Hard Enduro World Championship starts in May in Wales.
