Organisers of the 2025 Hixpania Hard Enduro make a measured response to the rider protest staged at the finish of round four of the FIM Hard Enduro World Championship in Spain.

In case you missed it there was a bit of drama in the Hard Enduro World Championship at the fourth round, Hixpania Hard Enduro. Following another super-competitive race between Billy Bolt and Mani Lettenbichler for the win, the riders – including most the top 10 – staged a protest at the severity of the track, and at the general way this sport is steering.

Long story short the top three in the race – Billy, Mani, and Mario Roman, plus the rest of the top riders – stopped short of the section of track in question and called an unnoficial halt to their race. Graham Jarvis did race the full course and was awarded the win while the rest of the HEWC riders who’d stopped were awarded finisher positions based on the previous checkpoint.

Chaos reigned it must be said as Graham was awarded the win, despite Billy being awarded the winner’s prize of the famous Hixpania sword at the top of the final hill.  Nobody seemingly knew what to do.

The organiser has issued a full and very measured statement offering their point of view and it is published below in full.

Read more about what the riders had to say, including Billy and Mani, here: 2025 Hixpania Hard Enduro Results: Jarvis “official” winner after Bolt and Lettenbichler’s final-hill protest

OFFICIAL ANNOUNCEMENT

From 24MX Hixpania Hard Enduro we wish to inform you about what happened during the Main Race last Sunday:

At around 11:45 a.m., fifteen minutes before the start, several riders gathered on one of the initial sections and expressed their refusal to complete much of the final Hixpania Hill course. They then approached the organizer to demand changes to the track.

At that moment, with only 15 minutes to go before the start, it was materially impossible to implement the requested changes. It should be remembered that the entire course had been inspected by the riders on Friday the 19th without any issues being reported to the organization. Nevertheless, we told them we would make some of these changes according to their safety concerns.

Likewise, the organization did not accept another series of changes to the route, since we understand that the final part of Hixpania is a section of a higher technical level where mistakes can be made, overtaking can occur… and thus the suspense is maintained until the very last moment at the finish line. This is what we understand the public at Hixpania Hill expects, and therefore we did not agree to all the requested modifications. We stress that those changes requested “for safety reasons” were indeed carried out even while the race was underway.

Despite this, some of the leading riders decided to stage a protest and voluntarily skip —despite being correctly marked, signposted and indicated by a marshal— part of the final course. Skipping part of the track resulted in the order of arrival at the finish line not matching the final classification. Therefore, only the two riders who completed 100% of the course (Graham Jarvis P1 and Sony Goggia P2) were taken into account. The rest of the classification was established according to the previous checkpoint. These results were approved and made official after the FIM jury meeting.

We deeply regret that, if there was any disagreement with the track, it was not communicated in advance, since for us listening to the professional opinions and criteria of the riders is always enriching. Nevertheless, we insist that all riders had the opportunity to review it on Friday, and each section had been previously validated on a motorcycle by our track managers to ensure feasibility.

At 24MX Hixpania Hard Enduro we understand and respect the riders’ right to express their demands, as well as choosing Hixpania as the stage to do so if they consider it contributes to the evolution of the sport. However, we reject that this protest harms our spectators, to whom we owe our utmost respect, as they are the true protagonists and the soul of any competition, and they deserve to enjoy the best possible show.

Finally, we want to acknowledge the efforts of the organizing team, staff, track managers, race directors, marshals and volunteers, who work together to deliver the highest quality event. We reaffirm our commitment to keep improving so that next year, on our 10th anniversary, we can offer the best spectacle we have ever produced.

24MX Hixpania Hard Enduro