2009 Red Bull Romaniacs

Hello all

Forum members Nizzo and Jag are travelling today to Romania to support Shane Cuthbertson and CGRT in RedBullRomaniacs. Shane will be riding an Fe570 with the helpfull hands of Nizzo on the wrenches and Jag with the camera. I'll post comments and pictures here as well as on the blog at www.cornergrass.com.

Jimmy Lewis is entered on a new 2010 Fe390 as well. We are anxious to here what he thinks of that bike and to see what he writes about it.

check out on the online tracking system and for daily reports at

www.redbullromaniacs.com

cheers

fry

Looking at the starting list, I see Erik Braundaur ( sp ) Austrian trials champ, Erzberg veteran also listed and he is riding a 570 as well this year I believe. Should be lots of guys to cheer for.

this was posted on the Corner Grass blog.

We made it to Sibiu with no issues…..bags all arrived. Moose drove from Bucharest OTP to Sibiu, that way he could get used to the somewhat more intense nature of the local drivers here Today we are off to find the bike and get to work. The weather so far is textbook summer day…25 and sunny, light breeze. Jay should have more to print later, once things get rolling.

Later,

Nick

and 'Moose' is Shane. His nick name due to his bush riding tactics.

cheers

fry

Well it looks like some bad luck has befallen my friend. He encountered some mechanical issues..not sure the scource or outcome, other than he failed to qualify for the main prologue Saturday evening. His start time is 6:21 Sunday morning. So not only is he a little upset about that, but some one 'borrowed' his bib and tire for the rallye. I'm only hoping that another poor thing has happened to him, making it a perfect three bad things.

more tomorrow

cheers

Fry

Day 1 Red bull Romaniacs,

This morning started off warm and dry for the riders as the first pro left at 6am. Shane left at 6:21am in the dark and CGRT met up with Shane Cuthbertson #5 and the other Husaberg riders (Dieter Happ #7, Erich Brandauer #9 and Jimmy Lewis #11) at the first media point to take pictures of the guys and give them a hand if they needed.

As the guys came into site it was interesting to see that they were running close to each other, considering they started many minutes apart. The guys looked very comfortable and were riding aggressive on the hill climbs.

Dieter was the first Husaberg rider into the service point, followed by Erich, then Shane. The mandatory 20 minute break gave the guys a chance to feed themselves and let the mechanics perform any minor adjustments.

Jimmy Lewis was having some issues today with body fatigue and was saying that today was real tough on him and hopes tomorrow will be better but his FE 390 was working well.

After the service point they headed back towards Sibiu. There the riders were greeted by a wall ride that at first looked scary for the fact if you slipped on the wood ramp you would fall into the river below, but turned out to be easy to ride. Following that was a beam to ride back over the river and once more back over a suspension bridge that went through the Red Bull arches and they made their way back to the paddock to finish the day.

End of the Day 1 results for the Husaberg riders:
Dieter Happ (11th)
Shane Cuthbertson (12th)
Erich Brandauer (13th)
Jimmy Lewis (16th)

Regards,
Jay McGregor

I was checking the online results, which differ from Jays :lol: and found a team consisting of Chris Denison and Alexander Smith. Is this the CD from Dirt Rider and is AS Malcolm's son? They seem to be doing well in the results.

ya, just talked to Shane's wife and he had dinner with Malcolm, Alexander and crew...so the response was typical...Great people. At least somethings in life never change - the legend of Malcolm Smith.

She also mentioned that the event is stacked with talent this year, so Shane is just 'going to have some fun'. It appears by the photos on teh website, he is planning to do that by tucking his head into the ground, ostrich style...so lets hope he changes that strategy. He did have a great ride on day one, were his comments to his better half, he had fun and moved from 17th to 12th. He completely through away the prologue, hense his poor starting position. They ride to another town during day 2, so hopefully they have internet so we can hear how the day went, otherwise we wait till the end of day 3.

cheers

fry

RE: Photos and Videos

19.08.2009
RBR 2009, Day 3 + 4
Day 3 took the riders and service teams to an outside Bivouac in Petrosani. By the end of day 4 our Husaberg riders had moved up in the ranks.



Day 3:
As the riders left the paddock in Sibiu they navigated through the city to ride the ranges of the Carpathian mountains towards Petrosani.

Shane Cuthbertson #5 rode very smooth and enjoyed the high speed flowing roads and trails. He didn't experience any major difficulties and his FE 570 worked flawless. He moved up one spot and sits now in 11th position, ready to crack the top 10.

Dieter Happ #7 had a good start in the day but a minor crash and a navigation error were costly and the slipped back three spots to 14th overall.

Erich Brandauer #9 was also riding good today but did not enjoy the high speed sections as much as his Husaberg collegues. He hopes the trail will get more technical so he can use his trials skills to move up the leader board. He remained in 13th position.

Jimmy Lewis #11 was unable to race due to minor injuries from day 2 and has resorted to be one of the media on trail.

Day 4:
Yesterday started with a traditional foggy morning for the riders as they headed out of the town of Petrosani and back to Sibiu.

Team Husaberg showed great form today as they tackled the steep hill climbs and slippery downhill's through rivers and wet grass.

Shane Cuthbertson and Dieter Happ were riding very fast together and they felt that the terrain suited their riding styles quite well. Erich Brandauer (all FE570) was only a little bit behind in each check point.

All three riders were able to move up significantly in the overall ranks, each one moving into the top 10. Shane sits now in 8th, Dieter in 9th and Erich in 10th position before the last day of racing.

The small distances in the top group promise an exciting final day. Important minutes can be made up or lost in a heartbeat, especially on the last day which includes a hill climb that, according to race promoter Martin Freinademetz, hasn't been conquered before and a "no help zone" at the end.

EEEEKKKKSSS, no help zone in Romania...sounds nasty!!!!!

The guys had a good day, but the trails were terribly fast ( in comparison to typical Romaniacs trail ) so the last day should be a doosy!!!!

this will be my last blurb, heading camping with the family, so chech www.husaberg.com for Jay's press releases and results midday today.

cheers

Lee

RE: Photos and Videos

I can't believe what I just read...

First Pro on the roof (19/08/2009 12:56:19 | c.panny/der vierte)
Canadian Shane Cuthbertson is the first pro-rider to reach the end of todays stage. The job is done

If that is the only note of him in the blog....

Husaberg wins a stage!!!!!!!

Re: RE: Photos and Videos

fryguy said:

I can't believe what I just read...

First Pro on the roof (19/08/2009 12:56:19 | c.panny/der vierte)
Canadian Shane Cuthbertson is the first pro-rider to reach the end of todays stage. The job is done

If that is the only note of him in the blog....

Husaberg wins a stage!!!!!!!

Click to expand...

....sorry for not following up with this...I was away with my family. To summarise, here is the press release from husaberg.com

CGRT Red Bull Romaniacs Review
Husabergs Shane Cuthbertson represents Canada at Red Bull Romaniacs 2009!



Another grueling edition of Red Bull Romaniacs is in the books and Canada’s Shane Cuthbertson has again conquered the self proclaimed ‘Hardest Enduro Rallye’ in convincing fashion! Cuthbertson was entered against 19 of the top Pro competitors from around the world – many of whom are contracted by the factories to contest these newly emerging ‘Extreme’ off-road competitions.

Starting with the now infamous Endurocross type prologue down the streets of Sibiu, Cuthbertson found himself in a deficit after a crash and technical problems during both qualifying runs would result in a 17th place starting position on Day 01 of the competition.

Days 01, 02, and 03 challenged the best riders in the world with ‘extreme’ Pro sections only capable by a hand full of these elite riders. In addition, this year’s competition included several high speed sections and some very tricky GPS navigation giving the event more of a ‘rallye’ flavor. Throughout these days, the ‘Moose’ steadily climbed the ladder into an 8th place position by end of Day 03.

Day 04 saw the competitor’s saddle up one last time with the top 10 Pro class competitors locked into a heated battle to establish their final result. In addition, the organizers had included several ‘near impassible’ hill climb sections to spice up the last days proceedings. It would be the last hill climb of the day aptly named ‘Long Way Up’ which would be the deciding factor in the overall ranking. Only 5 Pro competitors ‘reached the summit’ with the remaining 14 competitors electing to take a penalty for not completing this section. This was a deciding factor for Cuthbertson, who elected to miss this section after extensive discussions with fellow competitors Cyril Despres and Paul Bolton. “I am just gutted after finding out the time penalty was increased from the 60 minutes listed in the regulations to the 160 minute penalty actually levied! This resulted in the loss of 2 positions from 7th to 9th place overall result. I definitely would have stayed the course if I was aware of this penalty – I was already ¾ of the way up, however it was more about pushing your bike than riding; then the legendary Cyril Depres pulled the pin behind me and I just thought this was the right decision at the time. Turns out it was a big mistake and I will just take this as a life lesson to never take the easy way out again!â€Â

It is a shame that an event has any issues, not good for their investment, the sponsors or the manufactures who obviously spend plenty as well. Shane is a little bitter at the mistake of not pushing on, up the hill. Last year, it was the wise decision, as the hr penalty was often much less time than it took to push up hills.

However, he's happy with his ride, once he was able to get a rhythm going, he rode well. The support he was provided was top notch, factory support, so we couldn't be happier. I'm sure the brand is happy with the representation.

thanks for the props and looking out for us.

cheers

Lee