Want to win the Erzberg Rodeo? Choose Metzelers

Asphalt and Rubber calls Erzberg Rodeo the toughest single day race in the world. It’s not the Isle of Man TT, the Nurburgring 24 hours, or even Redbull’s Romaniacs.  It’s the Erzberg Rodeo, and it’s brutal.  In 2012, 1800 people started and only seven finished. It’s that tough.  The Metzeler 6 Days Extreme enduro tire is tougher.  It has been carried our riders to victory in the last 7 Erzberg rodeos.

The 6 Days Extreme is the same tire Taddy Blazusiak used to win the inaugural X Games Enduro X event last year.  It’s a very tough tire, with Metzeler’s “High Resistence Polyester” carcass and “X-ply” constuction, which keeps the tire intact in the most extreme conditions.  The knob design, distribution, and compound provides excellent traction in both dry and wet conditions—check out some of Taddy’s endurocross performances for proof!

Back to the enduro:  The race is held in an iron mine in Austria, and has impossibly steep hills, brutal rock gardens, and strict time limits.  Only the toughest, fittest riders finish.

Travis Pastrana gave it a shot and wound up saying “Erzberg is by far the most difficult race in the world.  I wouldn’t call it a motorcycle race, it’s a pulling your bike up hills race, it’s a launching your bike… it’s a dropping your bike off cliffs cause you’re not brave enough to go down the cliffs race.”

Travis said Carl’s Diner was the hardest part of the race.  Here is some video of that section of Erzberg.

Pic of Metzeler Rider winning the from Coastalwatch.com

Dreaming of Dirt

Our bikes are down as we prepare for the winter.  We’ve ordered grip heaters, a Gerbing’s heated jacket liner, and a new chain and sprockets.  While everything’s apart and being prepared, we’ve been… looking through post about dirt bikes on Derestricted.  The tacky grips and sharp pegs, the thrill of the narrow powerband, and the rush of the trees as they go by.  It takes effort to find a riding spot, get dressed in the requisite gear, and then focus 100% during the blast through the woods, but the rewards are tremendous.

Here’s a video of a KTM 300 and a Freeride 350 being ridden by two competent riders.  We’d take the lighter, more powerful 300 over the 350, though the idea of a detuned motor with a linear powerband and long maintenance intervals does appeal.

For tires, we’d fit Metzeler’s 6 Days Extreme, which was developed with factory riders for the most extreme conditions, and features superior structural characteristics and excellent puncture resistance. The knob distribution offers outstanding grip in all conditions.

Metzeler is the title sponsor of Hell’s Gate 2013

Munich, 5 December 2012 – Metzeler will be title sponsor of Hell’s Gate Metzeler 2013, the international extreme enduro competition which is now in its 10th edition.

Hell’s Gate is a race that became a symbol of modern extreme endure from its first appearance on the scene, and set the bar for a new era in enduro. This is a segment where Metzeler can be considered a legend in its own right. Since 1935 Metzeler has won a long series of victories in the German Enduro Championship, various titles in the European Championship and several wins in the International Six Days of Enduro. Before the turn of the century, between 1990 and 1997, Metzeler won twelve Enduro World Championships in different classes with high calibre riders such as Paul Edmondson, Giovanni Sala, Mario Rinaldi and Fabio Farioli. This brings us to our time in which, after introducing the innovative MCE 6 Days Extreme, the German brand has earned an astonishing nineteen world titles in the World Enduro Championship thanks to the performances of riders like David Knight, Ivan Cervantes, Samuli Aro, Juha Salminen, Johnny Aubert, Antoine Meo, Christophe Nambotin and the unforgettable Mika Ahola.

From 2004, the year of the first edition, Hell’s Gate has always been held in the month of February at the tourist Il Ciocco estate in the Tuscan Apennines: a natural paradise for enduro which, for the occasion is transformed into a hellish track to host all the participants in the competition. the track has all types of difficulties: falls, full flowing torrents, mule paths on impossible stony terrain. A decidedly technical and “physical” track.

Hell’s Gate was developed as a two phase race: in the morning an elimination enduro race where 30 ranked riders then access the actual race, the final phase of Hell’s Gate Metzeler. Starting grid and then the riders are ready to be unleashed into the inferno: 4 laps, a special non-stop trial, only checkpoints. The riders that cross with a delay of more than 30 minutes behind the lead rider are eliminated from the competition. The riders are also allowed to receive aid from the public on site, indispensable for tackling the final uphill, the unbreakable Hell’s Peak.

For more information and to find out how to participate, go to www.hellsgate.it

Champions are crowned at the final round of the WEC in France

Day 1:

In the first day of the final round of the WEC championship, spectators saw Metzeler riders Mika Ahola and Christophe Nambotin battle in the French countryside for the championship in Enduro 3.  One of them would take home the crown, and Ahola beat Nambotin on the first day to take home the championship, and simultaneously became the first person to take home a WEC title in all three categories.  Ahola was able to maintain the lead for the entire day, no doubt due in part to an injured wrist that Nambotin was nursing.

Juha Salminen was crowned champion on the first day as well.  The battle for the E1 title had come down to the last round, with Salminen and Metzeler rider Eero Remes duking it out for the lead; Salminen needed to finish ahead of Remes, and he did. Salminen started the day off poorly, losing some time in the first lap of the special stage, but he shook it off, regained the lead and held it for the rest of the day.

Enduro 2:  Pierre-Alexandres Renet from France took home the victory, while Metzeler rider Cristobal Guerrero came home third, behind Frenchman Antoine Meo.

Day 2:

Titles had already been secured by Salminen and Ahola on Saturday, and Meo had an unassailable lead from an earlier round, but there was still some great racing.  In Enduro 3, Nambotin’s wrist kept him from competing after Saturday’s valiant effort, and the podium went Ahola, Salvini, Tarkkala.

Enduro 2 saw Meo clawing his way to victory past Pierre-Alexandre Renet, who crashed during the third lap, and Guerrero and Cervantes coming 2^nd and 3^rd.

Congratulations to Metzeler riders—and indeed, all the competitors—for a great season, and especially to Mika Ahola for winning Enduro 3.

Final championship results:

E1:
1.  Salminen Juha Finland
2.  Remes Eero Finland
3. Seistola Matti Finland

E2:
Meo Antoine France
Guerrero Cristobal
Cervantes Ivan

E3:
Ahola Mika Finland
Nambotin Christophe France
Ljunggren Joakim Sweden

Info and Pics from enduro-abc.com

Metzeler Brings Home Two Wins in Andorra WEC Round

Day 1:

Heavy rains meant that the first day’s Xtreme test went untimed, but there was still lots of action in the seventh round of the World Enduro Championship. Juha Salminen retired from Enduro 1 on the second lap with gearbox trouble, so all eyes were on his main competitor, Metzeler rider Eero Remes. Remes spent the first day battling Rodrig Thain and Frenchman Matti Seistola. Ultimately, Remes managed to fend off both of them to take first place—he was joined on the podium by Thain and Sestola in second and third, respectively.

In Enduro 2, there was fierce competition between Metzeler’s Ivan Cervantes and Frenchmen Antoine Meo and Pierre-Alexandre Renet. Cervantes was looking good in first place until a Meo’s last-second dash in the final special. Metzeler’s Taddy Blazusiak took 6th in his first day of racing E2 this season, and Metzeler’s Cristobal Guerrero took 4th.

In Enduro 3, our own Mika Ahola and Christophe Nambotin had less than a second between them at the end of the third lap, but Nambotin made some mistakes in the last two specials and wasn’t able to capitalize on his first place hopes. And the end of the day, the podium went Ahola, Ljunggren, and Nambotin.

Day 2:

Eero Remes started strong and was full of confidence after his E1 victory one day one. Victory slipped through his fingers and the day wore on, and he saw Juha Salminen take it from him at the very end and had to settle for second place. E2 saw Metzeler riders Guerrero and Cervantes battling all day long. Meo won the war, however, as his 3rd place puts him in a sufficiently strong position to win the championship, despite there being one round left. Taddy Blazusiak worked his magic on the Xtreme Test to the crowd’s delight, and finished the competition in 5th place.

On the big bikes of E3, there was a 3-way fight for first place. Ahola, Nambotin and Ljunggren. On the last lap, they were separated by a second, but the final order was Metzeler’s Nambotin in first, Ljunggren in second, and Ahola in third.

Make sure to check out the videos to see how fierce this competition was. The skill these guys have is incredible, and to compete for more than seven hours in two days requires tremendous stamina.

All our riders were using Metzeler’s 6 Days Extreme Enduro or variations. It was developed with factory riders for the most extreme conditions, and features superior structural characteristics and excellent puncture resistance. The knob distribution offers outstanding grip in all conditions—just check out the results below.

Final Standings (Metzeler riders in bold)

E3
1 NAMBOTIN Christophe
2 LJUNGGREN Joakim
3 AHOLA Mika

E2
1 GUERRERO Cristobal
2 CERVANTES Ivan
3 MEO Antoine
5 BLAZUSIAK Tadeus

E1
1 SALMINEN Juha
2 REMES Eero
3 SEISTOLA Matti

From enduro-abc.com