The 2018 World Enduro Super Series is almost here!
With just under 25 days to go until the search for the Ultimate Enduro Champion begins and round one roars into life with Extreme XL Lagares in Portugal, here’s your A-Z Guide to WESS 2018.
A is for Awesome. We know, we know. We’re hardly going to say WESS 2018 is going to be anything less that awesome. But think about it, Jarvis vs Walker vs Gomez vs Roman vs Bolt vs Webb vs Young vs Blazusiak vs Haaker vs Garcia vs Watson vs many, many more. Oh, it’s on!
B is for Bucket list. How often have you and your mates talked about a road trip – a load up and head off to do a cool race overseas. But you’ve never made it happen. Stop thinking because it’s time to start doing.
C is for Carnage. Bring it on! One thing certain about WESS is that there will be plenty of crashing and carnage to look out for during the season as riders and machines push their limits.
D is for Determination. Arguably the most important quality any WESS competitor can have. When the going gets tough, it’ll be the tough that get going. Determination, determination, determination.
E is for Europe’s largest opencast mine. Or as we like to think of it ‘the fun pit’. Red Bull 111 Megawatt might be Taddy’s signature race but it’s also the half way point of the series.
F is for Fun. Isn’t that what sport’s all about? We intend to have a truck load of fun during the year, with each round bringing something new and different to the table. Life is for living and there’s nothing more exhilarating than riding dirt bikes.
G is for Gnarly and Gotland. Gnarly Gotland. Two words that perfectly describe the 2018 running of the 35-year-old Swedish classic. Gotland is a small island off the west coast of Sweden, in the Baltic Sea. For one weekend annually in October it’s populated by 3,000 enduro riders.
H is for Hard Enduro. Four of Hard Enduro’s iconic events — Extreme XL Lagares, Erzbergrodeo Red Bull Hare Scramble, Red Bull Romaniacs and Red Bull 111 Megawatt — have thrown their weight behind WESS, ensuring the action will be electric both on and off the track.
I is for Iron Giant. Of course it is. Iconic, instantly recognisable and the home of round two – the Erzbergrodeo Red Bull Hare Scramble. It’s the most famous half mountain in the dirt biking stratosphere.
J is for Jarvis. Graham Jarvis is the undisputed King of Hard Enduro and in 2018 he’s out to assert himself as the greatest all-round enduro rider of all time. All hail the King.
K is for Killer Footage. Thanks to Red Bull Media House you can be assured you’ll be getting all of the insane WESS action, delivered to your phone, computer and tablet. With cameras perfectly positioned at every vantage point, you’ll not miss a thing.
L is for Live Coverage. Erzbergrodeo Red Bull Hare Scramble will be beamed live to your redbull.tv screens so you can enjoy the action from the comfort of your couch. In fact Red Bull TV will deliver a 26min Recap Program following all rounds of WESS.
M is for Mud. Glorious mud. We love mud and you can be sure we’re going to find plenty of the stuff to play in during 2018. Roll up your sleeves, it’s gonna get messy.
N is for Nature. And getting closer to our amazing outdoor play areas. WESS is the only championship where you race on an island, embrace the Romanian wilderness, blast through the narrow cobblestone streets of Portugal’s world heritage city Porto or reach speeds of up to 120 km/h while skimming the waters of the North Sea at the series finale Red Bull Knock Out.
O is for Outside Bets. The beauty of a mixed-discipline series will be watching event specialists mix it up with WESS regulars. At every stop of the championship we’re expecting One Hit Wonders to cause an upset in the results whether it be Classic Enduro, Hard Enduro or Beach Racing.
P is for Pushing. Pushing way beyond any comfort zone. Pushing to be the best a rider can be. No matter if professional or amateur, no matter if it’s Erzbergrodeo Red Bull Hare Scramble or Trefle Lozerien AMV, WESS is all about pushing the limits in order to deliver the very best.
Q is for Quiet. That millisecond of start line silence before the flag drops and the good times begin. Full throttle action is what WESS is all about, but the eerie, yet beautiful, quiet before the start is something special.
R is for Red Bull Romaniacs. The world’s toughest Hard Enduro Rallye is where five wild and wonderful days of racing await over 400 riders from 35 different nations. The wilderness of the Carpathian Mountains in Romania offers some of the purist and most breath taking enduro terrain, for riders of all levels of ability.
S is for Sandy Dunes and Salty air. Red Bull Knock Out. The Grand Finale of the 2018 tour, it’s an event that’s likely to see the sand specialists stamp their authority while WESS regulars do battle to ensure a strong finish to their 2018 campaigns.
T is for Trefle – Trefle Lozerien AMV to give the French classic its full title. The Classic Enduro format of timed special test racing is the oldest form of enduro, unchanged for close to 100 years. A salute to iconic events like the ISDE, the Trefle Lozerien AMV will be an out and out test of raw speed and skill.
U is for Underdog. Will we see emerging new talent? Of course we will. With varied terrain and many different enduro disciplines, expect to witness the next generation of talent rise to challenge the world’s best enduro riders.
V is for Vocabulary. Are you fluent in moto-lingo? Do you know the difference between a two-stroke and four-stroke? Throughout 2018 you’ll need to be able to identify a braaapp from a blip, a berm from a rock-step.
W is for winner. But who will that be? Starting in May we will be treated to seven glorious months of racing before the inaugural WESS champion is crowned on the Dutch shores of Scheveningen in November.
X is for Extreme XL Lagares. It’s where all the fun starts. Beautiful city, bonkers prologue and an undeniably tough event. Thinking of a weekend away? Think about heading to Porto, loads of reasonably priced flights are still available!
Y is for You. Yes, you. What are your plans for 2018? There’s nothing better than getting out there and getting involved. So why not get involved? Rider or spectator, get a group of mates together and go. #iRideWESS – share your content and become a part of WESS.
Z is for Zest. Added enthusiasm, energy and vision that WESS is bringing something fresh, exciting and vibrant to the international enduro scene. Now, let’s get this started! (source: world enduro super series)
Rnd 1. Extreme XL Lagares (Portugal) May 11-13
Rnd 2. Erzbergrodeo Red Bull Hare Scramble (Austria) May 31-June 3
Rnd 3. Trèfle Lozérien AMV (France) June 8-10
Rnd 4. Red Bull Romaniacs (Romania) July 24-28
Rnd 5. Red Bull 111 Megawatt (Poland) September 8-9
Rnd 6. Gotland Grand National (Sweden) October 26-27
Rnd 7. Red Bull Knock Out (The Netherlands) November 10