Opening a new door to the next level of madness. Four new classes are being introduced in 2025; two Adventure Bike classes and two E-Moto classes – first ever in the world of extreme hard enduro.
The Red Bull Romaniacs Edition 22 dates are set, 22 – 26 July 2025 and once again the international amateur and professional hard enduro enthusiasts will gather in Sibiu to compete in the only five day extreme hard enduro rallye in the world. Registrations will open on Tuesday October 1. 2024 at 12:00 EEST. Register here to race.
Picking the right class to compete in is a critical decision and will end up determining whether a competitor will have a “hero” or “zero” result; an epic fail or become a successful Red Bull Romaniacs Finisher. The existing Gold, Silver, Bronze, Iron and Atom class descriptions and how to pick the right class are explained on the website. Bronze and Iron classes typically fill up first so set a reminder for this important date.
The Limitless, Edition 21, was crowned the toughest edition ever by the Gold Class competitors and as a result the focus was transferred to the Founder, Martin Freinademetz, who would inevitably have to create something cutting edge for the 2025 Red Bull Romaniacs. Known for his innovative style and relentless drive to push the limits, it can only be expected that Freinademetz would come up with something groundbreaking and completely new to the world of Hard Enduro.
Red Bull Romaniacs is excited to announce the introduction of four new classes in 2025, there will be two classes for Adventure motorcycles; the Ultimate Class and Lite Class and two classes for E-Moto motorcycles; Expert Class and Hobby Class. In both categories of motorcycles there is an entry/hobby level class and a more advanced/expert level class, opening up the opportunity for competitors of varying abilities in the two disciplines.
There has never been an Extreme Hard Enduro event for “big bikes” and over the past editions the success of competitors such as Pol Tarres (AND) who was the first ever to finish in Silver Class, P60 in 2024 and Kevin Gallas (DEU) who took the win in Bronze Class, P1 in 2024 both on a Ténéré 700, highlighted the potential for the Adventure category. Prior competitors who also competed on Adventure motorcycles were Matthias Walkner (AUT, KTM) who finished in P3 on his KTM 450 Rally bike in 2022 (single cylinder big bike), Gerhard Forster (DEU), P14 and Quinn Cody (USA), P33 both in Iron Class in 2017.
The stipulations for the Adventure Class motorcycles are that they are multi cylinder (a minimum of two cylinders). The Ultimate Class tracks will be based on the Atom Class which consist of some gruelling, technical challenges for the bigger, heavier bikes which do not have the manoeuvrability that the lightweight, agile, lower geared, easier to handle enduro bikes have. The Lite Class tracks will consist of more gravel, horse wagon tracks, log pulling trails with some flowy and wider singletracks and less off camber tracks. Competitors can still expect some natural mountain enduro obstacles, while it is not about destroying the big bikes, it is still Romaniacs and the Carpathian Mountains so heavy training, physical and mental fitness will play its part and of course the unpredictable weather can always change the stakes out there on the tracks, especially for the adventure motorcycles.
Prolog creator, Andy Fazekas has announced that he will construct an Adventure bike specific prolog track consisting of more negotiable obstacles adding more spectator candy to the prominent in-city event.
Single cylinder adventure style bikes can still compete but in the existing race classes.
The introduction of the E-Moto Class is a prime example of Martin Freinademetz wanting to stay ahead of the game and to keep moving forward into the future with the sport and continues to emphasise his commitment towards environmental awareness.
The 2024 Limitless Edition was the first year to see the E-Motos hit the Romaniacs tracks with seven E-Moto riders following a variety of classes testing their capability in hard enduro rallye distances and technicality. Valuable feedback and insights from the 2024 tests are now going towards the track creation of the first year of the E-Moto specific classes. The innovations, research and fast paced development in the E-Moto sector means that Freinademetz and Track Director, Teo Isac, are aware of the fact that the distance and technicality of the tracks may need to be adjusted nearer to the start date to keep up with the technology of the bikes. Typically the length of the E-Moto tracks will be in the region of 35 km before the Service Point and 20 km after, having had time to recharge the battery at the Service Point.
E-Moto classes will compete on the same 2025 Prolog track as the other classes. However with the shorter race tracks and rallye capabilities of the E-Moto, the entry fee will be adapted to make it more inviting.
“We really want to be the first rallye style event to be a part of the E-Moto development, we don’t know which direction things will go but we want to support the industry and I think Red Bull Romaniacs is a very good test for the E-Moto bikes. We want to be part of the future in this sector and are excited to be the first hard enduro rallye to introduce two classes for E-Moto’s.
We see a very strong development in the adventure sector. There are many companies building motorcycles in this size range for this kind of off and on road riding; Ducati, Triumph, Fantic as well as the existing brands such as KTM, Honda, BMW, Yamaha and Suzuki. We also have a lot of followers who like the Romaniacs movement and who are riding on bigger motorcycles. As Romania’s Carpathian Mountains offer great landscape and huge adventure it is a natural fit for the adventure bike. We are combining the big adventure with the big bikes. I am really looking forward to the new classes and the growth of the hard enduro sport, we like to stay one step ahead and I think we will be doing that this year in our exciting twenty second edition”. Martin Freinademetz