Red Bull Erzbergrodeo 2020: 100 days left until the Xtreme Enduro highlight kicks off at the „Iron Giant“
In exactly 100 days the international elite riders in motorcycle offroad sports will head into the toughest race of the Xtreme Enduro community at the notorious Erzberg in Austria. 1500 riders will take on the challenges of Red Bull Erzbergrodeo – with only a handful of them crossing the finish line in the end!
As soon as the toughest race event of the motorcycle offroad community will be started on June 14th at exactly 1:00 p.m., not only the eyes of tens of thousands fans will be focusing on the protagonists from all over the world. Motorsports enthusiasts around the globe will be able to witness the spectacular Red Bull Erzbergrodeo 2020 Live at ServusTV and Red Bull TV and experience the breathtaking fight “man versus the iron mountain” at close hand.
Red Bull Erzbergrodeo
Since 1995 the Erzbergrodeo has not only constantly set new standards in Enduro Sports, the one-of-a-kind event is regarded as one of the biggest and most renowned motorcycle racing events in the world. 1500 competitors from more than 40 nations and all continents, more than 40000 visitors, 1000 VIP guests, more than 250 media representants from all over the world, 800 crew workers… Erzbergrodeo not only gathers the elite of Xtreme Enduro Sports in the middle of Austria but has also become an irreplaceable business factor for the entire region.
After 25 years of successful cooperation between Erzbergrodeo and Red Bull, the consequence of this longtime common evolution is to elevate the partnership as Red Bull Erzbergrodeo to the next level as from 2020.
„Red Bull Erzbergrodeo – this sounds really copacetic to me. I’m more than happy that two epic brands have finally found together.”, Red Bull Erzbergrodeo Mastermind Karl Katoch describes the new level of partnership. “After 25 years of cooperation both brands had the wish to step up to the next level. Over the past decades both partners have experienced our cooperation in all facets. We have matured, we have evolved, and after all those years we know one thing for sure: we perfectly fit together!”, says Katoch.
Blakläder Iron Road Prologue 2020 earns own WESS Enduro World Championship scoring
As of 2020, the competitors of the Blakläder Iron Road Prologue will get the chance to gather World Championship points. Under the wings of the WESS Enduro World Championship, both Red Bull Erzbergrodeo and Blakläder Iron Road Prologue will be incorporated into the WESS scoring system. In contrast to the Red Bull Erzbergrodeo main race on Sunday, the Prologue on Friday and Saturday will get half the point set: the winner will be awarded 500 World Championship points, the runner-up collects 425 points, third place will receive 385 points, etc.
“The Prologue demands the complete skills in Enduro riding. It takes speed, riding technique and top endurance to race at the highest level from start to finish. The Prologue’s starting grid mirrors the cumulative talent of the world’s offroad racing community, so I regard the addition of the Blakläder Iron Road Prologue to the WESS Enduro World Championship as a very positive development and an additional motivation for all Red Bull Erzbergrodeo competitors.”, Karl Katoch shows his excitement.
The spectacular high-speed offroad race is hosted at Erzberg since 1995 and is the qualification race for the world’s most renowned Xtreme Enduro event: only the 500 fastest riders out of the 1500 competitors qualify for the Red Bull Erzbergrodeo main race on Sunday! Over the past 25 years though, the Blakläder Iron Road Prologue has developed from being a sole qualification race into an internationally renowned race event. The starting grid not only features the elite athletes of Xtreme Enduro but also the world’s fastest Motocross and Rally Raid riders, charging for hundredths of seconds on their hunt for the prestigious Prologue trophy. The up to 30 meters wide and 15 kilometers long gravel racetrack winds from the bottom of the Erzberg to its peak at 1466 meters above sea level. High level riding skills, perfect choice of lines and pure speed decide on victory or defeat.
Tougher than Iron: Red Bull Erzbergrodeo presents new track building crew
The 25th Erzbergrodeo anniversary edition in 2019 also saw the end of an era. Hans Werth, legendary track manager since the very first day, handed his supervision of the most notorious racetrack in Xtreme Enduro Sports over to the experienced hands of the next generation. And he did so in a very good conscience, as Georg Adamek and Wolfgang Thaller are both experienced Erzberg insiders who will take on the duties of designing, coordinating and chosing the difficulty level of the Red Bull Erzbergrodeo racetracks. While longtime head of the track building crew and Eisenerz native Wolfgang Thaller owns an unrivaled knowledge of the terrain at the Iron Giant, Georg Adamek is an active Enduro racer and former Red Bull Erzbergrodeo finisher who exactly knows how to design a track layout to fit the demands of modern Xtreme Enduro.
“We will of course continue to adjust the Red Bull Erzbergrodeo track layout to the rising level in Xtreme Enduro racing and I can assure that our new track building crew will seamlessly follow the paths of Hans Werth’s legendary work.”, says Red Bull Erzbergrodeo race promotor Karl Katoch.
Martin Kettner
Red Bull Erzbergrodeo Press/Media-Service
