{"id":43702,"date":"2019-07-23T20:56:17","date_gmt":"2019-07-23T18:56:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.enduro.nl\/?p=43702"},"modified":"2019-07-23T20:56:17","modified_gmt":"2019-07-23T18:56:17","slug":"wess-pr-world-enduro-super-series-mid-season-report","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/enduro.nl\/wordpress-enduronlnewsite\/43702\/wess-pr-world-enduro-super-series-mid-season-report\/","title":{"rendered":"WESS PR – World Enduro Super Series Mid-Season Report"},"content":{"rendered":"

Close Battles And Unprecedented Growth For WESS In 2019<\/strong>
\n\"Spain\u2019s<\/a>Wels, Austria – 23 July, 2019 \u2014 The World Enduro Super Series has enjoyed an incredible start to the season with multiple different winners and championship leaders, plus unprecedented media growth. From the season opener in Portugal, the racing has been nothing short of epic as the race to become this year\u2019s ULTIMATE ENDURO CHAMPION has moved through France, Austria and most recently Spain.<\/p>\n

Now, with four rounds complete, it\u2019s time to take a look at some of the season highlights to date before gearing up for what\u2019s set to an action-packed second half of the championship\u2026<\/p>\n

It\u2019s A Close Championship Fight<\/strong>
\nThe race to become this year\u2019s ULTIMATE ENDURO CHAMPION is incredibly tight. From four races we\u2019ve witnessed four different riders grace the top of the championship standings. Sherco Factory Racing\u2019s Mario Roman (ESP) was first to lead with victory at round one. But seven days later, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing\u2019s Josep Garcia (ESP) stormed ahead with a winning ride at Tr\u00e8fle Loz\u00e9rien AMV. At Erzbergrodeo Red Bull Hare Scramble, Germany\u2019s Manuel Lettenbichler (KTM) secured his second podium result of 2019 to take over the series\u2019 lead. But with Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing\u2019s Graham Jarvis (GB) winning rounds three and four, that momentum has put him out front heading into the second half of the season.<\/p>\n

Millions Tune In To Watch WESS<\/strong>
\nBringing WESS to life, the championship\u2019s Exclusive Media Partner Red Bull Media House have been hugely active in capturing all the best action from each round of the series. Quenching Enduro fans\u2019 thirst for footage, the championship has witnessed unprecedented growth over the 2018 series. With four rounds complete in 2019, WESS has been viewed over 31 million times, amassing 173 million minutes viewed. In comparison, at the end of the eight-round 2018 season, WESS was viewed 87 million times, amassing to 143 million minutes viewed. The WESS social media accounts have also continued to grow strongly. @irideWESS Instagram has since increased by over 22 per cent, while similarly Facebook has grown by 20 per cent to 35,000 Likes.<\/p>\n

Multiple Manufacturers\u2019 Enjoy Victory Spoils<\/strong>
\nEnsuring close competitive racing and unpredictable results, three different manufacturers have all tasted victory so far in 2019. Husqvarna have edged in front of their rivals with two wins to their credit, coming at Austria\u2019s Erzbergrodeo Red Bull Hare Scramble and Spain\u2019s Hixpania Hard Enduro. Sherco and KTM enjoy one win apiece. Sherco topped the standings at Portugal\u2019s Toyota Porto Extreme XL Lagares with KTM victorious at France\u2019s Tr\u00e8fle Loz\u00e9rien AMV.<\/p>\n

Breaking New Ground In Spain<\/strong>
\nRound four marked the first WESS race on Spanish soil. In what was the first of the series\u2019 two visits to Spain for 2019, Hixpania Hard Enduro proved a great success and a welcomed edition to the series. The Five Elements organisation team pulled out all the stops to ensure a world-class event. A spectacular prologue on Friday evening saw the host town come alive to the sound of Enduro bikes, which was followed by a challenging Cross-Country race around the nearby lake on Saturday. Finishing off with a demanding Hard Enduro on Sunday in front of thousands of spectators, Hixpania Hard Enduro confidently took its place on Enduros top events table.<\/p>\n

New Teams Rise To The Forefront<\/strong>
\nNew to the paddock for 2019, Eurotek KTM, TTR Officine Rigamonti and now JD Gunnex KTM are making their presence felt. Holding down 10th overall, South Africa\u2019s Travis Teasdale leads the way for Eurotek KTM. With two finishes inside the top-10, he also showed impressive form at Tr\u00e8fle Loz\u00e9rien AMV with 12th. Right behind him in 11th, Spain\u2019s Pol Tarres is pushing hard for TTR Officine Rigamonti. Kicking his campaign off with 12th at round one, an eighth on home soil at round four shows he\u2019s edging closer to the elusive top-five. Fourteenth at the series\u2019 halfway point, JD Gunnex KTM\u2019s David Cyprian is a regular inside the top-20 but will look to build on that with his favoured Red Bull Romaniacs next to come.<\/p>\n

Breakthrough Rides<\/strong>
\nOutside of the fight for victory and a place on the podium, there have been a number of breakthrough rides of note. Sitting just outside the top-10 in 13th, Britain\u2019s Jonathan Richardson (HTM Husqvarna) is impressing. The former top-flight Trials rider has successfully transferred his skills to Enduro with a well-earned 10th at round one. At round three in Austria, he showed his result was no fluke with a confidence-boosting 12th. Placing 11th at round four ensures Richardson is a rider to watch from here on out. Enjoying his debut season of WESS, Austrian Michael Walkner is working his way up the leader board. With a 24-25-26 scorecard at the opening three rounds, the 21-year-old claimed a season-best of 17th at round four to move himself up to 18th overall in the standings.<\/p>\n

Spectator Turnout<\/strong>
\nTurning out in their droves to watch the world\u2019s best Enduro riders in action, the spectator attendance for each round of the 2019 series has so far been equally as impressive as the racing. Across the three days of competition at Toyota Porto Extreme XL Lagares, Portugal showed their love for Enduro with up to 95,000 spectators – boosted by Saturday\u2019s Porto prologue – lining the trackside to cheer competitors on. Despite the inclement weather, France’s Tr\u00e8fle Loz\u00e9rien AMV organisers were pleased to confirm 30,000 watched the Classic Enduro action. Celebrating its 25th edition in style, Austria’s Erzbergrodeo welcomed 45,000 Enduro fans through their gates, while up to 23,000 spectators flocked to Aguilar de Campoo for Spain\u2019s Hixpania Hard Enduro.<\/p>\n

The Rest Of The Season To Come<\/strong>
\nWith four rounds in the books, the focus is now on the remaining four rounds in 2019. True to WESS form, a wide and challenging mix of Enduro disciplines await competitors. Set to celebrate its 16th edition, Red Bull Romaniacs is next on the list as riders contest the world\u2019s toughest Hard Enduro Rallye. Offering advantage to traditional specialists, Hawkstone Park Cross-Country and BR2 Enduro Solsona classic enduro will see speeds rise before signing things off at Germany\u2019s Getzenrodeo for the series finale on November 2nd. With Red Bull Media House broadcasting the action live on Red Bull TV, it\u2019s sure to mark an exciting conclusion to this year\u2019s battle in the race to become the ULTIMATE ENDURO CHAMPION.<\/p>\n

The World Enduro Super Series continues with round five at Red Bull Romaniacs on July 30 – August 3.<\/p>\n

Championship Standings (After Round 4 of 8)<\/strong><\/p>\n

1. Graham Jarvis (Husqvarna – GB) 2690pts; 2. Manuel Lettenbichler (KTM – GER) 2570pts; 3. Mario Roman (Sherco – ESP) 2540; 4. Alfredo Gomez (Husqvarna – ESP) 2314; 5. Billy Bolt (Husqvarna – GB) 2155; 6. Josep Garcia (KTM – ESP) 2125pts; 7. Jonny Walker (KTM – GB) 2090pts; 8. Taddy Blazusiak (KTM – POL) 1900pts; 9. Nathan Watson (KTM – GB) 1631pts; 10. Travis Teasdale (KTM – RSA) 1610pts\u2026<\/p>\n

Photo credit: Future7Media<\/p>\n

Website: iRideWESS.com
\nRed Bull TV: redbull.tv\/WESS
\nInstagram: instagram.com\/iRideWESS
\nFacebook: facebook.com\/iRideWESS
\nTwitter: twitter.com\/iRideWESS<\/p>\n

WORLD ENDURO SUPER SERIES \u2013 2019 SCHEDULE<\/strong><\/p>\n

Round 1: Toyota Porto Extreme XL Lagares (Portugal) May 10-12
\nRound 2: Tr\u00e8fle Loz\u00e9rien AMV (France) May 17-19
\nRound 3: Erzbergrodeo Red Bull Hare Scramble (Austria) May 30-June 2
\nRound 4: Hixpania Hard Enduro (Spain) June 21-23
\nRound 5: Red Bull Romaniacs (Romania) July 30-August 3
\nRound 6: Hawkstone Park Cross Country (United Kingdom) September 21-22
\nRound 7: BR2 Enduro Solsona (Spain) October 5-6
\nRound 8: GetzenRodeo (Germany) November 2<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Close Battles And Unprecedented Growth For WESS In 2019 Wels, Austria – 23 July, 2019 \u2014 The World Enduro Super Series has enjoyed an incredible start to the season with multiple different winners and championship leaders, plus unprecedented media growth. From the season opener in Portugal, the racing has been nothing short of epic as…<\/p>\n

Lees meer “WESS PR – World Enduro Super Series Mid-Season Report”<\/span> »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-43702","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-persberichten"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/enduro.nl\/wordpress-enduronlnewsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43702","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/enduro.nl\/wordpress-enduronlnewsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/enduro.nl\/wordpress-enduronlnewsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/enduro.nl\/wordpress-enduronlnewsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/enduro.nl\/wordpress-enduronlnewsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=43702"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/enduro.nl\/wordpress-enduronlnewsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43702\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/enduro.nl\/wordpress-enduronlnewsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=43702"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/enduro.nl\/wordpress-enduronlnewsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=43702"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/enduro.nl\/wordpress-enduronlnewsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=43702"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}