SINCE the "EVENT" was organized two decades ago, NO Filipino has attempted to conquer what is known as the world’s most difficult endurance rally for offroad motorcycle riders since the Red Bull Romaniacs FIM Hard Enduro World Championship was organized 20 years ago. It took two Dabawenyos to do just that — trail buddies Walton Gonzales and Peter Abella and they survived the grueling trail in the deepest forests of Transylvania from July 25-29, 2023.
Yes, the place that was made popular by Bram Stoker’s Count Dracula, but no vampires joined the race.
More than 450 riders from 35 countries joined the race topped by Germany’s Manuel “Mani” Lettenbichler, his fourth time to win this race. At second was Trystan Hart of Canada, and at third was Teodor Kabkchiev of Bulgaria. All three are consistent winners in World Enduro rallies.
Gonzales and Abella were college buddies and the pandemic saw them riding out in the city’s most rugged mountains to ride with their offroad motorcycles as sports activities were restricted during those years. It was Gonzales who introduced Abella to offroad riding, but it was Abella who was obsessed with it.
“Peter was always curious about the sports of Enduro, always asking about the sports, and they both love the thought of endurance kind of racing, mostly because the available races here are sprint races,” said Wendy Minion, Walton’s wife who is also an offroad rider.
Thus, when the two helped organize the First Sen. Bato National Open Enduro Championships in 20223, Gonzales set it up as an endurance racing where the fastest player need not be the winner as it requires endurance, skills, focus, and determination — the very concept Romaniacs was founded on.
The Red Bull Romaniacs is the longest event in the Hard Enduro World Championship and sees riders competing for five days starting with a series of tined run around an obstacle course in the medieval city of Sibiu, followed by a four-day marathon “over the jagged terrain that lurks deep in the forests, rivers and peaks of the Carpathian mountains”.
Since they registered in October 2022 to join the 20th Red Bull Romaniacs, the duo has been joining almost all races, most common being on the barangay level. By January, they were doing trail at least three times a week and did this every day, rain or shine, as the Romaniacs rally neared.
“Sabi nila gusto nila umuwi everyday na buak para they would feel the fatigue they will encounter in the actual Romaniacs (They said they wanted to go home every day with their bodies battered to the limits),” Wendy said.
The biggest challenge, however, was the weather. Believing that summertime in Romania is sunny and warm, the temperature ranged from a low of 14deg Centigrade to a high of 27degC. The racers also had to weather a storm. The sun finally showed itself on Days 3 and 4 of the race.
Gonzales wanted to skip the prolog on Day 1 as he sustained a shoulder injury while still here in Davao, but Abella was insistent, saying they can’t waste the opportunity of being already there. That meant a nightly dose of Salonpas and Omega Pain Killer plus regular pain relievers.
It was a test of endurance and determination, a battle of the mind, as speed and skills are not enough for Romaniacs. Among the Asian riders, Indonesia sent their fastest and most skilled but failed to qualify (DNQ), were time-barred, or suffered damaged motorcycles.
The first day of the main race in the Carpathian Mountains opened with the sun shining as if welcoming the riders. The weather turned nasty by the afternoon as a massive thunderstorm that came complete with rain and hail engulfed the mountains and made some sections impassable.
The second day was a ride through mountain trails made muddy and slippery by the thunderstorm of the day before. Matched with the temperature the duo was not prepared for, the race became even more grueling. But they survived up to the end, and that is worth all the muscle pains and the cold they had to endure; after all, it’s not called Enduro for nothing.