Teodor Kabakchiev won the Sea to Sky Forest Race in Kemer, Türkiye, taking Day 2 victory by 50 seconds over James Moore. Mitch Brightmore completed the top three, while the big drama came further down the classification as Manuel Lettenbichler and Mario Román were both handed 10-minute penalties.
The result reshuffled the order ahead of Saturday’s decisive Mountain Race, with the championship leader suddenly much further down the Day 2 results than his pace on the course suggested.
Kabakchiev Takes Control After CP6
The Forest Race covered roughly 40 kilometres and nine checkpoints, with Kabakchiev stopping the clock at 1:45:02. Moore finished only 50 seconds behind, with Mitch Brightmore third at +1:43, while the top six were covered by just 4:27.
Kabakchiev was only fourth at CP4 and still trailed Moore by 24 seconds at CP5. The Bulgarian took over at CP6, around 24 kilometres into the race, and was fastest through every checkpoint from there to the finish, steadily building his winning margin.
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10-Minute Penalty Hits Lettenbichler
On corrected road time, Mario Román had finished fourth and Lettenbichler fifth, respectively 2:08 and 2:33 behind Kabakchiev. Both riders were then given 10-minute penalties, dropping Román to 14th and Lettenbichler to 15th in the official classification.
The penalty was particularly costly for Lettenbichler in the championship fight, although his speed was clearly still there. He recorded the fastest time on the longest sector of the race, the 7.1-kilometre run from CP4 to CP5, completing it in 23:44.
Brightmore Brothers Stay Near the Front
Mitch Brightmore’s third place keeps him right in the middle of the fight heading into Saturday, while brother Ashton Brightmore finished fourth at +2:54. Ashton also set the fastest time on two sectors, including the final run from CP9 to the finish.
David Cyprian completed the top five, with Graham Jarvis sixth. Dieter Rudolf, Alfredo Gómez, Toby Shaw and Luke John Walker rounded out the top ten.
Everything Comes Down to the Mountain Race
Sea to Sky now moves into its decisive final day, where the famous Mountain Race will determine the outcome of Round 7 of the FIM Hard Enduro World Championship. Kabakchiev has momentum, Moore is only 50 seconds away, Brightmore remains close and Lettenbichler now has a penalty-shaped problem to recover from.
With Hixpania still to come after Türkiye, every championship point matters — and Saturday could have a major impact on the title fight.
