Results from the 2024 SuperEnduro World Championship round one in Lievin, France where Billy Bolt clocked a confident 3-3-3 scorecard for the overall win ahead of Jonny Walker and a surprised Will Hoare third.

 

2024 SuperEnduro Rnd1, GP of France in a nutshell:

  • The formbook of three years or more now told us before round one of the 2024 SuperEnduro World Championship that Billy Bolt would be the rider to beat. But with pressure from those titles, and some in form rivals on the entry list, it wasn’t so clear this time.
  • Scratch that, Billy went fastest in the SuperPole and followed it up with three controlled race wins for the first GP victory of the season!
  • In fact the practice and Superpole hot laps showed us who would be fast on the night with some flying times from a determined Jonny Walker, Rieju new signing Dominik Olszowy and Will Hoare on a more flowing track to start the season.
  • Moto one saw Bolt and Walker running clear of a midpack gaggle of riders who would set a pattern for themselves across the night. Olszowy, Hoare, Alfredo Gomez, Mani Lettenbichler were riding with elbows out with Olzowy taking the P3 spot in the end behind Bolt and Walker.
  • Reverse grid start or not, moto two saw Bolt and Walker take less than a couple of laps to get through to the front and head for another one-two. Bolt was already walking it.
  • The fight of the night was going on behind them though with Diogo Vieira joining the party after a flying start leading Gomez and Norbert Zsigovitz in the mix. Lettenbichler and Hoare turned up and all were trading places and paintwork. Hoare was dogged in picking them off and when he finally nabbed third from Gómez on the last lap, only to be handed a five second penalty for a minor track infringement. Despite that, it set Hoare up for a potential overall podium.
  • Moto three was a formality then? It sure was with Billy grabbing the holeshot and never needing to look back for a convincing win. “I felt in control all night and improved with each heat, I’m very happy with the way I rode”, he told Enduro21 after a perfect start to the season. 

Catch highlights in our seperate story: 2024 SuperEnduro: GP of France, Rnd1 video highlights

  • Jonny Walker came here with literally the same bike he took to second place in last year’s SuperEnduro world championship after taking off the dust sheets from where it had been stowed away all summer. With zero support from Beta (which amazes us after they have two riders on the world championship podium tonight), Jonny was happy with the result and start to his campaign.
  • The surprise to many (including himself) was Will Hoare third placed overall. Happy on his new Beta UK supported ride, Hoare was fast in practice and consistant in the races to grab a maiden overall podium alongside Bolt and Walker and ahead of some factory rider talent here. Speaking after the podium, Hoare exlpained he hadn’t planned to do the full season but would have to get an entry in for Krakow in two weeks now!
  • Mani Lettenbichler had a relative quiet day, peppered with a crash or two and a bit of a culture shock for the Hard Enduro World Champion popping back into the bar-banging world of indoor enduro. It takes some adjusting but his last place to third in moto one was a highlight of the night for the spectators.
  • The Junior class kicked-off their season with a surprisingly calm (for these axe murderers) set of three motos. Suff Sella was the rider of the night, taking all three moto wins where he simply looked like the best rider out there. It was an impressive start for the Israeli rider and it was a poigniant podium with his national flag around his shoulders.
  • Roland Liszka and Ashton Brightmore duked it out for the Junior podium places with Brightmore the more consistent for second and Liszka third in the end.
  • The Prestige and Junior classes were over-subscribed which made room for a couple of non-qualifiers, Open class races. Jordan Scott took a start-to-finish win in the first ahead of Dan Peace with roles reveresed in a slightly more chaotic heat two meaning Peace took the overall. 

SuperEnduro GP of France results, Prestige class:

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SuperEnduro GP of France results, Prestige Moto 1:

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SuperEnduro GP of France results, Prestige Moto 2:

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SuperEnduro GP of France results, Prestige Moto 3:

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SuperEnduro GP of France results, Junior:

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SuperEnduro GP of France results, Open (non-qualifiers):

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Photo Credit: Future7Media | Nicki Martinez