A long season of the DOWATEK HardEnduroSeries Germany came to an end in Rüdersdorf at the Mountdoom Hard Enduro where Marc Wulf claimed the title in wicked conditions.

It was not an easy conclusion to the 2023 season for the riders of the toughest Enduro series in Germany. The Motorcycle Club Woltersdorf tried something new after staging EnduroGP World Championship, European Championship, and German Championship races in recent years by hosting HESG.

Prologue win for Kevin Gallas

Just before the start of the Prologue Awards, the rain finally stopped after soaking the entire track overnight. Fynn Hannemann was the first to complete the lap but  struggled with the wet conditions and placed seventh which was enough for the overall prologue victory for the season.

Marc Wulf was the second rider took the lead directly and did not let go and this result laid the groundwork for his championship title. Wulf sat 18 points down but five points for the Prologue put him clear of his fiercest pursuer Felix Bähker, classified in 21st after a crash.

Milan Schmüser also returned with a bang after a long injury with second place, while Arvid Meyer completed the top three.

Drama in the group races

Hard enduro appeals to the fans and, like the previous round, spectators flocked in droves to the season finale as well. They experienced exciting action with constantly changing places in the group races with Kevin Gallas and Milan Schmüser eventually claiming the two motos.

A title decision was made during the group races as Eva Täuber secured enough points to call herself HESG Women’s Champion for the first time. Following Maria Franke, she is only the second female rider to clinch this still young title as the champion.

Problematic final

When the final started at 4pm, there was great tension with MC Woltersdorf making a small mistake that necessitated a restart. After this was swiftly resolved and the field restarted, but the race distance had to be shortened to just 40 minutes due to the encroaching darkness.

In the first lap Kevin Gallas initially crossed the finish line first but he later dropped out during lap two allowing Leon Hentschel to claim the lead, coping well with the track. After his long injury, Hentschel made a clear statement that next year he’s coming back for the HESG title.

Leon came home first to the finish line after three laps making him the sixth winner this season, showing the balance of the series.

The second big surprise of the day was Fynn Hannemann. He already made a statement in the group races in Schwepnitz. This race things went perfectly for the Beta pilot with the second-best lap time and an excellent second place along with the Junior class win. Milan Schmüser also returned in impressive form and secured third place.

HESG final, Mountdoom results:

Wulf is the new champion

The two title contenders, Felix Bähker and Marc Wulf, took fourth and fifth places in the final race of the season and with P5, Wulf had done enough to crown himself the new champion. Wulf is the third overall winner of the series after Kevin Gallas and Leon Hentschel.

In the Amateurs category Lukas Debus took with another victory ahead of Max Rutz in the final. Debus will thus start in the professional category next year.

The 2023 HESG concludes with a seventh season already in planning for the spring of 2024.

All final standings of the season can be found here: www.hardendurogermany.de/championship-2023

More information: www.hardenduro-germany.de

Words Credit: Denis Gunther

Photo Credit: Michel238pic | Michel Kuchel + DG Design | Denis Günther