X-GRIP GASGAS Racing Team Records Best-Ever Erzbergrodeo with Triple Finish

The X-GRIP GASGAS Racing Team delivered its strongest-ever result at the Red Bull Erzbergrodeo, celebrating a historic triple finish at the 2026 edition of the world’s toughest hard enduro race.

On a mountain where simply reaching the finish line is already a major achievement, the team came away with Mitch Brightmore in fifth, Ashton Brightmore in eighth, and Dieter Rudolf in 14th, marking the best collective Erzbergrodeo performance in team history.

Strong start in brutal Prologue conditions

The weekend began with difficult conditions on the Iron Road Prologue, as persistent rain turned the 15-kilometre gravel climb into a high-speed survival test. Riders were forced to attack the mountain in heavy rain and poor visibility, with speeds climbing beyond 120 km/h.

Even in those conditions, the X-GRIP GASGAS squad showed its strength immediately. Dieter Rudolf led the way with the ninth-fastest time, followed by Mitch Brightmore in 13th and Valentino Hutter in 15th. Ashton Brightmore finished 28th, while Matthias Buchinger narrowly missed a direct front-row place with 51st.

As the track improved on the second Prologue day, Ashton stepped up to 18th, securing his front-row start for Sunday. Mitch, Didi, and Vale all comfortably remained inside the top 50 as well, while Buchinger missed the front row by just three seconds.

Mitch leads early, Vale shines, and the team stays in the fight

When the main race started on Sunday, X-GRIP GASGAS wasted no time making its presence felt. Mitch Brightmore jumped straight into the race lead, while Ashton Brightmore and Valentino Hutter established themselves inside the top ten. Dieter Rudolf stayed close behind in 12th, keeping himself in touch with the front group.

Mitch matched the pace of the eventual winner in the early stages before adjusting his approach to manage the brutal second half of the race. Vale was also outstanding, running as high as fourth place while racing against the world’s elite, all while balancing his preparation with his final school exams.

Didi, meanwhile, used all his experience to stay efficient through the faster sections and carefully manage his condition after serious back problems in the lead-up to the race. As the checkpoints passed, another Erzberg finish began to look increasingly realistic.

Setbacks, but no surrender

Misfortune hit Valentino at Checkpoint 9, where a small mistake caused clutch damage. Later, a brake issue at Carl’s Dinner Light added even more problems and forced lengthy repairs. Even so, he kept going through heavy traffic and brutal technical sections before reaching Checkpoint 21. When the four-hour limit ended his race, he was classified 55th overall.

Matthias Buchinger also showed determination, steadily making his way through the course and reaching Checkpoint 20. He too was stopped by the time limit, but his 60th-place classification still marked his best Erzbergrodeo result so far.

Brightmore brothers and Rudolf finish the job

As the race entered its closing stages, Mitch and Ashton both dug deep to stay inside the front group. Ashton continued his impressive ride all the way to the finish, securing eighth place and becoming an official Erzbergrodeo finisher for the first time.

Dieter Rudolf also brought his GASGAS home successfully, this time with time to spare. Unlike previous years, the Austrian crossed the line with nine minutes still left on the clock, sealing another important finish.

At the front end of the result sheet, Mitch completed a superb ride to finish fifth overall, giving the team its best headline result of the weekend.

A landmark result for X-GRIP GASGAS

With three riders making it to the finish arena, the 2026 Red Bull Erzbergrodeo will go down as a milestone event for the X-GRIP GASGAS Racing Team.

A triple finish at Erzberg is never ordinary. For X-GRIP GASGAS, doing it with fifth, eighth, and 14th place makes it something even bigger — a clear sign of how far the team has come, and how competitive it now is on one of the hardest stages in hard enduro.

Photo: RadioPaddock