DIRT NEWS

World Hard Enduro season , German Manuel Lettenbichler has extended his contract with KTM . After delivering incredible performances as a KTM-mounted privateer , Lettenbichler first signed with the factory team in 2019 . Since then , he has enjoyed season after season of exceptional results in the FIM Hard Enduro World Championship – not least , his back-toback titles in 2022 and 2023 . The 25-year-old has won the intensely challenging Red Bull Romaniacs four times over the past five years , only missing out on victory in 2022 when a two-hour penalty put him on the back foot early on . Even then , he still fought back to place sixth . “ I think the team is doing a great job , so I definitely want to stick with them and stay in orange ,” Lettenbichler says . “ My journey with KTM has already been amazing , especially the past two hard enduro seasons . To win in 2022 after injury and missing a round was incredible , but to do the clean sweep this year is unbelievable – I couldn ’ t have done it without the whole team behind me . Overall , I ’ m really happy to stay with KTM for the years to come , I have a strong family behind me in the crew so I hope we can keep on doing exactly what we ’ re doing right now !” KTM knows they ’ ve got one of the best riders in the world on their side , and they aren ’ t shy about shouting it from the rooftops . “ I am very happy to continue working with Mani now and into the future ”, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing Enduro Team Manager , Fabio Farioli says . “ Mani is one of the best riders , so we are happy to have him , and we love working with him . It ’ s a pleasure both from the racing side and the working side . I ’ m really happy for Mani , for the team , and for the company . Hopefully , we can bring home a few more titles together !”

Lettenbichler holds the record as the youngest rider ever to win the infamous Red Bull ErzbergRodeo , a feat he completed in 2022 at just 24 years old . Mani then went on to take victory at the Iron Giant again in 2023 , on his way to securing a historic clean sweep of the Hard Enduro World Championship where the KTM 300 EXC racer topped every single round . Looking ahead to the 2024 season , Lettenbichler and the team says they will initially focus on the FIM SuperEnduro World Championship , where Mani will return to the series for the first time in two years . Following that , attention will switch to the Hard Enduro World Championship where he will be aiming to secure back-to-back titles and continue the dominance that has already ensured his place among the all-time legends of the sport .

98 KIWI RIDER