Red Bull Romaniacs
- Located in Sibiu, Romania
- Difficulty Extreme
- 5 days long
Next edition: , Sibiu, Romania
Red Bull Romaniacs is the hard enduro rally of the Carpathian Mountains: a city-center prologue in Sibiu followed by four long offroad days navigated by GPS. It has run every year since 2004. The 2026 edition drew 581 entries from 58 nations across nine classes, and Manuel Lettenbichler won Gold for the seventh time, level with Graham Jarvis on the all-time record.
Book entries and travel through the official race website.
On this page
- Red Bull Romaniacs at a glance
- Red Bull Romaniacs 2026 results
- Red Bull Romaniacs winners by year
- Red Bull Romaniacs championship status by year
- How Red Bull Romaniacs works
- How to enter Red Bull Romaniacs 2027
- Getting to Sibiu and watching Romaniacs
- Red Bull Romaniacs history and records
- Red Bull Romaniacs sources
Red Bull Romaniacs at a glance
| Base | Sibiu, Transylvania, Romania[10] |
|---|---|
| Next edition | Edition 24: 27–31 July 2027 (opening ceremony 26 July). Prologue on 27 July, offroad days 28–31 July[15, 16] |
| 2026 winner | Manuel Lettenbichler (KTM 300 EXC), 22:14:41, 1 hour 3 minutes clear. His seventh win and fourth in a row[1, 39, 7] |
| Format | In-city prologue in Sibiu, then four offroad days with GPS navigation[10] |
| Classes (2026) | Gold, Silver, Bronze, Iron, Atom, Adventure Ultimate, Adventure Core, Adventure Lite, eMoto Hobby[9] |
| Field (2026) | 581 entries from 58 nations; 25 in Gold[5, 8] |
| Most Gold wins | 7 – Graham Jarvis and Manuel Lettenbichler[6, 7] |
| Series in 2026 | Not an FIM Hard Enduro World Championship round. A “Supreme” event in the Hard Enduro World Ranking[29, 9] |
Red Bull Romaniacs 2026 results
Held 28 July – 1 August 2026 (Edition 23, “Unstoppable”): prologue in Sibiu on 28 July, offroad days 29 July – 1 August.
Manuel Lettenbichler won Gold in a total of 22:14:41 on his KTM 300 EXC, 1 hour 3 minutes 27 seconds ahead of Teodor Kabakchiev. James Moore was third on a Beta. It was Lettenbichler's seventh Romaniacs win, equal to Graham Jarvis's record, and his fourth in a row (2023–2026).
Kabakchiev won the Gold prologue final in Sibiu in 11:23.657, ahead of Mitch Brightmore and Lettenbichler. Lettenbichler then won offroad days 1, 2 and 4. Kabakchiev took day 3 by 53 seconds.
The 2026 edition spent two nights away from Sibiu. The Enduro classes stayed at the Straja ski resort and the route used old mine sites in the Jiu Valley. Day 1 finished at Petrila, day 2 at Lupeni and day 3 in Săliște, before the final day ended at the Sibiu Hillclimbs Arena. Day 1 alone was 180 km for Gold, and day 3 was more than 140 km.
Graham Jarvis finished 20th in Gold on his Jarv-E electric bike. Mario Roman, who was third in Gold in 2025, raced the Adventure Ultimate class this year and won it on a CFMoto 450MT.
| Pos. | Rider | Nation | Bike | Total time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Manuel Lettenbichler | GER | KTM 300 EXC | 22:14:41 |
| 2 | Teodor Kabakchiev | BUL | Sherco SE 300 Factory | 23:18:08 |
| 3 | James Moore | RSA | Beta 300 | 24:35:03 |
| 4 | Matthew Green | RSA | KTM EXC 300 | 25:04:59 |
| 5 | Mitch Brightmore | GBR | GASGAS EC 300 | 25:07:58 |
| 6 | Michael Walkner | AUT | GASGAS EC 300 | 25:51:25 |
| 7 | Lorenzo Gandola | ITA | Sherco SE 300 | 26:40:40 |
| 8 | Thomas Scales | RSA | Beta 300 RR | 28:01:26 |
| 9 | Sonny Goggia | ITA | KTM EXC 300 | 28:20:25 |
| 10 | David Cyprian | CZE | KTM 300 TBI | 28:42:55 |
Red Bull Romaniacs 2026 class winners
| Class | Winner | Nation |
|---|---|---|
| Silver | Sandon Kerswell | AUS |
| Bronze | Benjamin Richter | GER |
| Iron | Nico Friedmann | GER |
| Atom | Daniel Fasching | AUT |
| Adventure Ultimate | Mario Roman, CFMoto 450MT | ESP |
| Adventure Core | Rene Columna | DOM |
| Adventure Lite | Guishu He | CHN |
| eMoto Hobby | Martin Dosch | GER |
Red Bull Romaniacs winners by year
Gold class (formerly Pro) overall winners from the organizer's Hall of Fame and the official results for each year. Bikes are as entered on the official results. The event has run every year since 2004; in 2020 it moved to 27–31 October and ran without spectators or the city prologue.
| Year | Winner | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Manuel Lettenbichler (GER), KTM 300 EXC | [1] |
| 2025 | Manuel Lettenbichler (GER), KTM 300 EXC | [6, 2] |
| 2024 | Manuel Lettenbichler (GER), KTM 300 EXC | [6, 2] |
| 2023 | Manuel Lettenbichler (GER), KTM 300 EXC | [6, 2] |
| 2022 | Graham Jarvis (GBR), Husqvarna TE 300i | [6, 2] |
| 2021 | Manuel Lettenbichler (GER), KTM 300 EXC TPI | [6, 2] |
| 2020 | Manuel Lettenbichler (GER), KTM 300 EXC TPI · held in October, no spectators | [6, 2, 38, 37] |
| 2019 | Manuel Lettenbichler (GER), KTM 300 EXC TPI | [6, 2] |
| 2018 | Wade Young (RSA), Sherco | [6, 4] |
| 2017 | Graham Jarvis (GBR), Husqvarna TE 300 | [6, 2] |
| 2016 | Graham Jarvis (GBR), Husqvarna TE 300 | [6, 2] |
| 2015 | Jonny Walker (GBR), KTM 300 EXC Factory | [6, 2] |
| 2014 | Jonny Walker (GBR), KTM 300 EXC | [6, 3] |
| 2013 | Graham Jarvis (GBR), Husaberg TE 300 | [6, 2] |
| 2012 | Graham Jarvis (GBR), Husaberg 300 | [6, 2] |
| 2011 | Graham Jarvis (GBR), Husaberg 300 | [6, 2] |
| 2010 | Chris Birch (NZL), KTM | [6, 2] |
| 2009 | Andreas Lettenbichler (GER), BMW | [6, 2] |
| 2008 | Graham Jarvis (GBR) | [6, 2] |
| 2007 | Cyril Despres (FRA) | [6, 2] |
| 2006 | Michel Gau (FRA), KTM | [6, 2] |
| 2005 | Cyril Despres (FRA) | [6, 2] |
| 2004 | Cyril Despres (FRA), KTM | [6, 2, 24] |
Most Red Bull Romaniacs wins
| Rider | Wins | Years |
|---|---|---|
| Graham Jarvis | 7 | 2008, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2016, 2017, 2022 |
| Manuel Lettenbichler | 7 | 2019, 2020, 2021, 2023, 2024, 2025, 2026 |
| Cyril Despres | 3 | 2004, 2005, 2007 |
| Jonny Walker | 2 | 2014, 2015 |
Red Bull Romaniacs championship status by year
| Years | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 2018 | World Enduro Super Series (WESS), round 4 | [34] |
| 2019 | WESS, round 5 | [35] |
| 2020 | The only WESS event held in 2020 | [36] |
| 2021 | FIM Hard Enduro World Championship, round 4 | [30] |
| 2022 | FIM Hard Enduro World Championship, round 5 | [31] |
| 2023 | FIM Hard Enduro World Championship. Listed as round 4 on the FIM calendar; run as round 3 after Abestone dropped out | [32, 25] |
| 2024 | FIM Hard Enduro World Championship, round 4 | [33] |
| 2025 | Left the FIM series with the Erzbergrodeo. The organizers awarded their own “Extreme Enduro Rallye World Champion” title | [26, 27] |
| 2026 | Not on the FIM calendar. A “Supreme” event in the Hard Enduro World Ranking, set up with the Erzbergrodeo | [29, 28, 9] |
How Red Bull Romaniacs works
Romaniacs is a hard enduro rally, not a one-day race. Every rider's times from the prologue and four offroad days are added together, plus penalties. That rewards consistency and navigation over one heroic day.
- Opening ceremony and nations parade: Monday, in Sibiu.
- Prologue: Tuesday, on an obstacle course on Bulevardul Corneliu Coposu, next to Sibiu's old town. Gold riders get two qualifying runs, and the fastest 35 go into a final of 10 minutes plus one lap. The prologue sets the start order for the offroad days.
- Offroad days 1–4: Wednesday to Saturday, in the mountains around Sibiu. Each class covers up to and over 100 km a day. Riding time is roughly 4 to 10 hours a day depending on class. The organizer puts the Gold route at more than 35,000 meters of climbing and descending.
- Finish: the final day ends at the Sibiu Hillclimbs Arena.
Navigation, fuel and service
- GPS: a Garmin unit is mandatory. The organizer loads the day's track and collects the unit at the end of each day. Straying more than 50 m either side of the track earns a calculated penalty, and there are speed-limit zones.
- Fuel: only at official Tank Points, engine off, bike on an environmental mat, rider off the bike. Breaking the rule costs 10 minutes. Bikes need at least 80 km of range.
- Service: one mandatory service point each day, with a standard 20-minute stop. You can change parts anywhere, but not the frame.
- Tires: no tire or wheel changes between the start and finish of an offroad day. Motocross tires are banned.
- Outside help: 15-minute penalty.
- Bikes: must be road-registered and insured, with working lights, and under 115 dB(A).
Which class is which
| Class | Who it is for |
|---|---|
| Gold | Professionals. The organizer says only about 50 riders in the world can finish it |
| Silver | Nearly as technical as Gold, with less intensity and shorter days |
| Bronze | The mainstream class and the biggest entry (200 riders in 2026) |
| Iron | Four offroad days without the hardest sections |
| Atom | Entry level, with no trials-style sections |
| Adventure Ultimate, Core, Lite | Big adventure bikes, from hardest to easiest |
| eMoto | Electric bikes on shorter days (35–60 km) |
For 2027 the organizer adds Adventure Wild and eMoto Expert, for 11 classes in total.
Only one woman has ever finished Gold: Sandra Gómez. She finished fifth in Silver in 2026.
How to enter Red Bull Romaniacs 2027
- Dates: Edition 24 runs 27–31 July 2027, with the opening ceremony on 26 July.
- Registration: opened at 12:00 on 1 October 2026, on the organizer's site.
- Payment: pay in full, or pay 50% to hold a place and the balance before 15 June 2027.
- What the entry includes: fuel and water at the Tank Points, a snack at each day's finish, a T-shirt and a finisher medal.
- License: a valid motorcycle driving license. The bike must be road-registered with third-party insurance. The Romanian federation (FRM) race card you need is issued at sign-on and is part of the entry.
The Gold class is by the organizer's own description for professionals. Most amateurs start in Bronze or Iron. If you are coming from motocross, our motocross to enduro guide covers the change in riding.
Getting to Sibiu and watching Romaniacs
Flying in: Sibiu International Airport (SBZ) is the closest. The organizer also lists Bucharest (OTP), Cluj-Napoca (CLJ), Timișoara (TSR), Târgu Mureș (TGM) and Craiova (CRA). The nearest big hubs outside Romania are Budapest and Belgrade.
Watching in person: the prologue is the easy one. It runs on Bulevardul Corneliu Coposu, next to Sibiu's medieval center. The organizer publishes spectator points for each offroad day. The last day finishes at the Sibiu Hillclimbs Arena.
Watching online: the organizer's LEATT LIVEmaniacs show covers the opening ceremony, the prologue finals and each offroad day. That made six live broadcasts in 2026, streamed on the Romaniacs website, Facebook and YouTube. Live results and GPS tracking are on the official site.
For riding in Romania outside race week, see our Romania enduro guide.
Red Bull Romaniacs history and records
The first Romaniacs in 2004 had 32 riders on the start line, and Cyril Despres won it. He won again in 2005 and 2007, before Graham Jarvis took the first of his seven wins in 2008. Jarvis won three in a row from 2011 to 2013 and added his seventh in 2022.
Manuel Lettenbichler won his first in 2019, the year after Wade Young won for Sherco. Lettenbichler has now won seven of the last eight editions. His father, Andreas Lettenbichler, won in 2009 on a BMW, which makes them the only father and son to have won Gold.
Records:
- Most wins: 7, Graham Jarvis and Manuel Lettenbichler.
- Most podiums (to 2025): Graham Jarvis, 12.
- Longest winning run: Lettenbichler, three in a row from 2019 to 2021 and four in a row from 2023 to 2026.
- 2026 field: 581 entries from 58 nations.
