Manuel Lettenbichler leaves the 2026 Roof of Africa with another major championship result after finishing second overall in Lesotho. The Red Bull KTM Factory Racing rider battled for the victory throughout three demanding days in the Maloti Mountains and has now extended his FIM Hard Enduro World Championship lead to 29 points with two rounds remaining.
The overall result could hardly have been tighter behind winner Teodor Kabakchiev. Lettenbichler secured second place by just 0.1 seconds over Wade Young after the accumulated times from all three days were calculated.
Mani Stays in the Fight from Day One
Lettenbichler opened the Roof with the second-fastest time in Thursday’s Time Trial, finishing only 15.74 seconds from the benchmark. That put him in a strong position heading into Friday’s much longer Mountain Race.
Across Friday’s 110-kilometre stage, Mani stayed firmly with the leading group and finished third. His combined time left him third overall heading into Saturday, with Kabakchiev and Young still within reach.
One Tenth of a Second Decides P2
Saturday’s two-lap Main Race produced another intense battle. Lettenbichler finished third on the day but gained 38.4 seconds on Wade Young, which proved crucial once the cumulative times were added together.
Kabakchiev secured the overall victory in 9:59:46, while Lettenbichler finished at 10:02:33.1. Young’s total was 10:02:33.2, leaving just one tenth of a second between second and third after almost ten hours of accumulated racing.
Lettenbichler: A Good Day for the Championship
Manuel Lettenbichler: “I’m really happy to finish the Roof of Africa with another second overall. The final day was pretty good, it was a bit shorter and more intense, which was actually really cool. There was less navigation and more technical riding, so I could really focus on my riding and felt like I rode pretty well. I started third and was by myself for the whole first lap. I couldn’t catch Wade [Young] and Teo [Kabakchiev], but I was happy with my position. Then James [Moore] caught me because he was on fire today, so we pushed really hard on the second lap and caught Wade. For me, that was perfect because I had less navigation to worry about and could really focus on my riding. It was also a really good day for the championship, so I’m really stoked with the result.”
Roof of Africa – Provisional Top 5
- Teodor Kabakchiev – 9:59:46
- Manuel Lettenbichler – 10:02:33.1 (+2:46.9)
- Wade Young – 10:02:33.2 (+2:47)
- Matt Green – +34:26
- James Moore – +38:11
29-Point Championship Advantage
Lettenbichler now leads the championship with 160 points, while Mitch Brightmore remains second on 131. Roof winner Kabakchiev strengthens third place with 104 points, ahead of Ashton Brightmore on 95 and Billy Bolt on 76.
Only Sea to Sky in Türkiye and the final round remain. The next battle takes place on October 8–10, where Lettenbichler will arrive with an even stronger grip on the championship.
Roast Mode
Nearly ten hours of accumulated racing, and second place was decided by 0.1 seconds. Apparently the Roof of Africa decided that mountains, altitude and navigation were not stressful enough.
