Henry Strauss answered back at round two of the HardEnduroSeries Germany in Reetz, taking a controlled win in cold, wet and increasingly difficult conditions to draw level in the championship with Leon Hentschel.

Two weeks after the opener in Neuhaus-Schierschnitz, the 2026 Auner HardEnduroSeries Germany moved to Reetz where the riders swapped mud for deep sand — but not the bad weather.

Cold temperatures, drizzle and a track that deteriorated lap by lap created another demanding race day, with the artificial obstacles and rocky uphill sections becoming decisive as the event progressed.

More than 130 riders lined up, an increase on last season, with the full front-running field again present.

Strauss fastest in Prolog

The ACE Bikes Prolog Award proved much faster than round one and suited Strauss immediately.

Despite minor mistakes, the KTM rider set a benchmark no one could match, ending around 10 seconds clear of Hentschel to secure pole position for the group races.

A standout performance came from Raven Lippold, who took third and earned a place among the front starters.

Group races bring first drama

The first group race delivered early drama when Florian Geisenhofer crashed after briefly leading and injured his shoulder, ending his day early.

At the front Strauss controlled the race, staying composed to take victory on a layout run in the reverse direction to the final where conditions worsened for group two as drizzle turned the sand slick and technical.

Hentschel delivered the expected response, taking victory ahead of Matthis Millich and Emil Kessler to set up another head-to-head in the final.

In the women’s class, Julia Bittner bounced back after retiring at round one to take victory and reclaim momentum in the standings.

Final goes Strauss’ way

The final began under heavy pressure for both title contenders, with Hentschel carrying a three-point advantage into the race.

Hentschel led the opening lap, but Strauss soon made his move and began pulling clear on one of his strongest tracks.

Even the increasingly slippery rocks in the 24MX Action Zone failed to interrupt his rhythm, while traffic behind caused major delays and forced race control to reroute riders during lap two.

The section briefly returned on lap three before being removed again after Max Eppelmann injured his hand there.

Out front Strauss remained untouchable, controlling the race throughout and taking victory after 54 minutes 30 seconds.

“It was a really fun race today. I didn’t get into the final perfectly at the beginning, but from lap three onwards everything worked really well. I’m already looking forward to Kronach on May 30.”

Hentschel finished second with Marc Wulf third, while Matthis Millich and Felix Bopp completed the top five.

Class acts

The podium also reflected the Pro class result while the result leaves Strauss and Hentschel level on points heading into round three. Emil Kessler secured another Junior class win with sixth overall.

Kai Uebe won Senior ahead of Manuel Woessner, while Jakob Blazovich continued his strong start by taking another Amateur class victory ahead of Lukas Lichter and Davy Aarts.

In the electric class, Peter Fakler claimed victory after Eric Seifert was unable to complete the race distance on his electric machine.

Round three now moves to Kronach on May 30, on what will be the 49th race in series history. More information: www.hardenduro-germany.de and through the official social media channels.

Photo Credit: Michel238pic | Michel Kuchel