Kevin Gallas maintained his winning run in the DOWATEK Hard Enduro Series Germany as the third round of the series landed in TrialGP territory at the Granite Scramble in the Fichtel Mountains.

Motorcycle Club Gefrees are used to organising big events having staged the TrialGP World Championship in the past. But for the first time since the series began, the club finally hosted to the German hard enduro round, the Granite Scramble. 

Gibson Tyretech Prolog win for Leon Hentschel  

Leon Hentschel continues to be the pace setter in the prologue runs this season. The points gained for these qualification race wins are keeping him in the fight for the championship despite the race-winning form of rival Kevin Gallas. 

In Gefrees he set a “breath-taking” best time of 01:53,937, more than 13 seconds faster than Gallas, who finished third.

Bolder fields making even the top riders sweat

Riders started the main race in groups of four, one minute apart and scheduled to complete five laps. In the run- up to the race, there was some speculation as to how many riders would be able to complete the “extremely difficult” course.

Check the course onboard with race winner Kevin Gallas...

 

But the reality was when the leaders, led by Kevin Gallas, arrived at the start-finish area to begin lap two after only 20 minutes, everyone was astonished. Some wondered if the lap was too short.

As ever, lap two is a different story as the front runners caught up with the amateurs who still on their first lap. Using alternative lines, the top five nevertheless fought their way past with ease.

Gallas controlled the lead of the race until the finish and was the first to see the chequered flag after just two hours. Behind him, as in the last races, was last year’s champion Leon Hentschel who set the fastest lap along the way. All-rounder Milan Schmüser made it to third place and was the best Junior.

The most demanding track of all, however, also claimed many technical problems and also retirements. The most prominent victims of the crashes were Max Faude and Kenny Lötzsch. Dirk Peter and Marcel Teucher also lost a lot of time. Teucher, who was in the top 10 at the beginning, lost many places due to a defective brake and a radiator hose. In the end, 29th place meant he was the first rider out of 135 who did not reach the finish.

Gallas, on the other hand, now leads the championship although it is by just two points thanks to Hentschel’s bonus points for the prologue wins. The championship remains open.

With third overall and his thirdwin in class, Milan Schmüser consolidates his lead in the Juniors. Behind him, Eric Seifert also established himself in second place ahead of Louis Richter, who was now competing on a GASGAS for the first time.

Rene Dietrich was able to fight back in the Seniors’ race. He also has the most experience with extreme terrain and was all the more pleased at the finish with the challenging course that MSC Gefrees had set up. In the end, the feedback from riders, organisers and fans was overwhelmingly positive.

 

Nico Hapke was able to take his first victory in the amateur category in Gefrees. Jakob Braun, Michel Breu and Nico Hapke were the third winners in the third race of the season.

 

The fourth round of the HESG takes place on July 16 in Reisersberg. Entries, results and more information: www.hardenduro-germany.de

 

Photo Credit: DG Design, Grenznic640, Ina Klemer