The King of Hard Enduro Strikes Again at Romaniacs

Once a year the best Hard Enduro riders on the planet head to Romania for their sport's toughest rally. Red Bull Romaniacs has been testing bikers to the limit for over a decade and this latest edition was no exception.

Watch our highlights clip above to see what went down in the Carpathian Mountains.

Things got off to a flying start with the traditional inner-city prologue in Sibiu and the top riders were quick to establish themselves at the business end of the leaderboard. Last year’s winner Jonny Walker was back from injury and clearly determined to defend his Romaniacs title.

Could Jonny stay on the throttle long enough to pick up his third Romaniacs win? Or would the chasing pack reel him in during the 400 miles of steep climbs through dense forest?

A Look at the Cutthroat Job Hunt of Pro Motocross

Professional motocross can be a fickle bitch. Each spot under a factory team’s awning is worth its weight in gold, or carbon fiber as seems to be the trend these days at the track. The unfortunate truth is that riders are only as good as their results. It's a conundrum as old as the sport — when everything seems to be good, but the results are not, what is the problem? Moto Spy episode 4 follows GEICO Honda’s sole 450 entry Justin Bogle in the midst of his rookie season in the premier class. Though Bogle's speed and ability on the motorcycle is brilliant, he has struggled to live up to the incredible expectations set by the factory Honda team. Now in a contract year, Bogle is racing for a job in 2017.

2017 Fly Racewear

Watch Dougie Lampkin climb a waterfall

Dougie Lamkin  has never shied away from a challenge, and this is one the Yorkshireman took head on – Ravana Ella Falls in Sri Lanka.

 Looking at the sheer face of it, you wouldn't dare dream of trying to scramble up it on a motorcycle. Not Dougie though!

Watch the video above to see Lampkin scale the waterfall with apparent ease, using all his skill to negotiate impossible angles and non-existent grip.

Does AMA or MXGP have the roughest track?

Continuing our series we take a look at the nastiest tracks on both sides of the pond.

By Aaron Hansel and Joseph Caron Dawe on 20 July 2016

When it comes to motocross, rough racing surfaces are just part of the game. Of course, some tracks are rougher than others.

Here’s a look at the roughest tracks in the AMA and their counterparts in MXGP.

AMA: Hangtown and Glen Helen

Marvin Musquin bucking his way around Glen Helen © Garth Milan/Red Bull Content Pool 

For mere mortals, just about any of the tracks of Lucas Oil Pro Motocross would be nearly unrideable, and even the smoothest ones would be bone-jarring compared to most amateur tracks on any given weekend. But if you ask around in the AMA paddock, you’ll get two common responses: Hangtown and Glen Helen Raceway, both located in California.

Part of the reason these tracks get so extraordinarily rough is because of the soil. Hangtown, which was built in an area that was once hydro-mined for gold many years ago, has imported countless truckloads of dirt, which mixes in with the hard, naturally-occurring dirt of the area.

Once it’s ripped, the bumps really start forming – especially in the steep downhill sections where riders are hard on the brakes.

It wasn’t at its roughest this year [2016], but that’s because the track crew, anticipating rain, didn’t rip it as deeply as they normally do, but it’s typically one of the most torturous tracks in America.

Last year Zach Osborne, who’s spent time racing in MXGP, had this to say:

“I think there are some sections out there that are in the top five of gnarliest sections in the world, it’s rough. I’m glad, I like this stuff. I spent a lot of time in Europe where this is the norm.”

The dirt at Glen Helen is a bit sandier and softer as a whole, and when it gets hammered all day big bumps and hard, relentless chops start developing, which makes things especially scary because it’s such a high-speed track.

In fact, riders were reaching nearly 80mph (129kph) in one section this year! And like Hangtown, it’s also got plenty of steep up and downhills, which, thanks to riders being hard on the gas going up and hard on the brakes coming down, makes for even more nasty chop.

Saddle up for a bumpy ride at Hangtown © Garth Milan/Red Bull Content Pool 

MXGP: Lommel

We promise we haven’t brought this one up just to upset Aaron and our AMA fans, but ask any US rider about Lommel and observe their reaction for an insight into the roughest track on the MXGP circuit!

The Belgian track is a sand one, and perhaps the word deep doesn’t do justice to just how far down that sand goes.

Jorge Prado carves up Lommel © Alberto Lessmann/Red Bull Content Pool 

The MX of Nations in 2012 made it no more apparent, as Team USA – still managing a highly credible third place – struggled to get to grips with the extremely tough Lommel, which even many of the European riders still can’t get their heads around.

“We learned quite a bit and we realised what a demanding and tough track this is,” was Ryan Dungey’s reaction after experiencing the famous layout.

Hands down the roughest, toughest one the World Championship has to offer.

International OTMX is tough!

Riding the International Old Timer MX series is tough. It takes skills to compete with a bunch of old guys. These old timers race three motos on Saturday and that requires that you pace yourself in order to handle three rigorous motos. Here Bret Eckert demonstrates one of the most important survival skills for OTMX racing at the recent Sierra MX Classic.

Ball Busters!

 The hills are as steep as they come at Red Bull Romaniacs. Here are some of the best ball busters from this year’s race…

Romaniacs...A Road Less Traveled

 There are some sick people in this world and some of them lay out race courses!

Red Bull Romaniacs 2016 Day 3

Watch the riders of Gold and Silver Class, climbing steep and nasty uphills.

Xtra Chasing the Dream!

Monster Energy® AMA Supercross, an FIM World Championship, is the premier off-road motorcycle racing circuit in the world, produced inside the world's most elite stadiums. Monster Energy® Supercross tracks are man-made inside the stadium. Some of the sport's marquee names include Ryan Dungey, Ken Roczen, Eli Tomac, Trey Canard, Jason Anderson, Chad Reed, David Millsaps and former supercross greats Jeremy McGrath and Ricky Carmichael. Regarded as the king of action sports, supercross has been described as one of the most physically demanding sports.