The Wild Boar GNCC (or any GNCC that’s ever been held in Florida, honestly) has a reputation for being tough. The sand whoops are unforgiving, and even for riders who are in good shape and enjoy sand, the race is a physical and mental challenge. Adding to that, when you’re racing at a place called “The Hog Waller Mud Bog” you know mud and deep water holes are going to be involved – especially when you have a rainy weekend like this past one. There are several long sections of thick, black mud, and a few other spots with water crossings. The water here is so murky that it’s impossible to guess how deep it is. Many spots are shallow, only ankle-deep… but since the place is used by ATVs and utility vehicles, there are occasionally random chest-deep holes and trenches. This makes it critical that you carefully walk the course beforehand, or else leave yourself to the whims of fate, chance and line-pointers who may or may not have your best interests at heart.

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 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.”

As we came into the penultimate round of the 2024 FIM SuperEnduro Championship, we had written “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. Bolt is clearly the class of the field. Until someone proves that they can actually beat the man in one round… It. Is. Over.” Well, not surprisingly, no-one had an answer for the British superstar and with a 59 point lead in the Championship it’s all over for Jonny Walker if Bolt takes 4 points from the finale in Newcastle next weekend. And to be absolutely clear, Billy Bolt will take home many more than 4 points barring catastrophe.

The moment we’ve all been waiting for – the opening round of the Progressive GNCC Series! Round one, the Big Buck GNCC, took place this past weekend in Union, South Carolina. Here’s Rachel Gutish’s race recap!

This year’s opening round of the National Enduro Promotions Group (NEPG) series took place last weekend with the FMF Sumter National, which takes place just outside of Sumter, South Carolina in Manchester State Forest.

Round two of the USSE series took place in Buffalo, South Carolina at the Silver Hawk Plantation. Silver Hawk is no stranger to off-road racing, having hosted a Full Gas round several years ago, the annual SETRA Little Brown Jug Enduro and being one of AmPro Yamaha and off-road champion Randy Hawkins’ properties. The property is beautiful and tremendously fun to ride, with tight singletrack, access roads, a full motocross track and even a little bit of elevation change. Unlike the sandy soil last round, this was pure red clay – so it’s just as well that conditions were dry and sunny, because that kind of dirt gets insanely slippery when wet.

Two weeks ago we said that with three rounds to go the Championship was effectively over unless someone/anyone could find a way to beat Bolt in a GP. It didn’t happen in Budapest. Bolt came away from Hungary with 62 points to Walker’s 48, and has extended his Championship lead from 19 to 33 points over Walker. Unless Bolt’s left knee/leg injury somehow prevents him from riding the last two rounds in Sofia and Newcastle, and there’s nothing to indicate that it will, we’re going to say it again - It. Is. Over. The real question of the series is now if Lettenbichler can hang onto P3 overall.

Even though it took place in Georgia, northerners who made the trek south for Mac Daddy’s Sprint, round one of the USSE series, were likely disappointed by temperatures hovering around freezing. However, they were not disappointed by sunny and dry conditions, especially after the torrential rain riders faced at this venue last year.

The 4-mile (roughly 6.5k) cross test took place in an active sand (or maybe clay) mine and had a very ISDE/Euro feel with lots of fast sweeping corners and short but sharp elevation changes as you entered and exited different sections of the open pit… with a few natural-terrain based jumps for good measure. The 3-mile (roughly 5k) enduro test was also a mix of sand and clay, with a few deep, sandy corners, but a lot of harder clay sections with exposed tree roots and braking/acceleration chop. The cross test held together beautifully throughout the weekend, aside from the jump face and landings getting a little worn down and chewed out. It was stunning how quickly the enduro test got rough. Even between previewing the tests Friday and starting the adult race Saturday (with only the youth riders having been out on the course) there was a noticeable difference, and by the final test on Sunday, it was approaching GNCC or ISDE special test levels of roughness, with very few viable options for riding the edges or avoiding the whoops.  

The 2024 US Hard Enduro Series opened up this past weekend deep in the Southern California desert at King of the Motos. After a short off-season, it was good to the North American pro circuit swinging back into action at this classic Hard Enduro event.

GP Romania - Round 4 of the FIM SuperEnduro World Championship - took place tonight and once again it was Billy Bolt who found a way to overcome his leg injury from GP Germany and dominate the night.

GP Germany - Round 3 of the FIM SuperEnduro World Championship - took place today - took place tonight and like the first two rounds the big question was if anyone had an answer for #57 Billy Bolt (Husqvarna Factory Racing). As it turned out, despite Bolt suffering what looked to be a severe left leg/knee injury in timed practice, the answer remained (remarkably!) ‘No’ as he went 1-1-3 for the win.

Stage 1 of Dakar 2024 was the first real test for the riders, and it delivered in every way. Ross Branch (Botswana - Hero Motosports Team Rally) took a dominating stage win, and we saw yesterday’s prologue winner Tosha Schareina (Spain - Monster Energy Honda Team) abandon the race with a broken wrist.

Tosha Schareina had a dream start to Dakar 2024, taking the prologue win in 17’35.9 at an average speed of 92.31kph. Schareina finished 12 seconds ahead of Daniel Sanders and 19 seconds ahead of third-place Daniel Sanders. For Schareina, it’s a perfect start with his new Monster Energy Honda team. “I had a great 2023 and now a great prologue, but we have to keep our feet on the ground. We have a very good bike and a very good team. We have all the ingredients but we have to be humble and just see how the rally goes.”

Sherco Racing has announced the signing of Bulgarian Hard Enduro talent Teodor Kabakchiev for the 2024 season. Kabackchiev finished 5th overall in the 2023 FIM Hard Enduro World Championship just two points out of the top 3 overall, one point behind new teammate Mario Roman. Kabakchiev’s signing will definitely strengthen the Sherco team going into this year’s world championship series.

The 2024 FIM Hard Enduro World Championship calendar was released today with two new races on the schedule and the subtraction of the Canadian Red Bull Outliers round.

Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Kevin Benavides and Toby Price are fully focused on success as they complete their final preparations ahead of the 2024 Dakar Rally, which starts in Saudi Arabia on January 5. Matthias Walkner will unfortunately miss the race following a recent injury to his left leg.

Unbeatable in France, Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Billy Bolt has delivered a dominant performance at round one of the 2024 FIM SuperEnduro World Championship. Making it three wins from three starts inside the Arena Stade couvert de Lievin, Billy also topped the SuperPole hot lap on his FE 350 to complete round one with a maximum points score.

Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Matthias Walkner is recovering well following surgery to repair an injury to his left leg, which he sustained while training in the United States. However, the damage is such that the Austrian will be unable to compete in the Dakar Rally in January. Teammate Kevin Benavides also injured his left leg while training recently, but the Argentinian is expected to be back riding in time for Dakar.

The final round of the 2023 IRC Tires Endurocross Series in Reno, NV. Canadian #84 Trystan Hart (FMF KTM Factory Racing) took the win for the Pro Men,with #417 Rachel Gutish (Over and Out Racing / GasGas) taking it home for the Pro Women.

With their wins, both Hart and Gutish are the 2023 series champions. This is the first time either of them have won this series. Hart erased a seven-point deficit to defending champion #22 Jonny Walker (Beta USA), while Gutish overcame a separated shoulder and broken ribs from her Team USA ISDE duties in Argentina the previous week. Hart finishes the year as the US Hard Enduro champion, US Endurocross champion, and third overall in the FIM Hard Enduro Championship Series. Gutish was also third overall in the 2023 GNCC WXC series.