Stark Future is set to compete in this year’s Red Bull Erzbergrodeo with a three rider team consisting of Eddie Karlsson, Toby Martyn and Cooper Abbott. All three riders are set to compete aboard the fully-electric Stark Varg, racing alongside traditional combustion motorcycles in the same class. Stark says this is the first time an electric motorcycle has been allowed to compete on the “Iron Mountain”, but Ty Tremaine and Lyndon Poskitt raced the AltaRedshift during the event back in 2018, although neither rider finished.
In order for the e-bikes to be competitive, the event has approved has approved an “emission-free” charging station in the Erzbergrodeo Arena along with an additional powered location on the mountain, and a permitted battery-swapping point at the same point as the traditional refueling zone.
Eddie Karlsson leads the team as a current racer for the Stark Future program. The Swedish rider competes in the SuperEnduro series and scored podiums at Red Bull Los Andes Hard Enduro 2024 as well as an overall Silver Class victory at Red Bull Romaniacs 2025. Toby Martyn finished fifth overall in the 2025/26 FIM SuperEnduro World Championship and currently competes in the FIM Hard Enduro World Championship aboard a Varg. Cooper Abbott, the young US rider, joins the squad for his second try in Erzberg. Sébastien Tortelli is also set to ride the Thursday Rocket Ride and Friday Prologue events aboard the Stark Varg.
Red Bull Erzbergrodeo remains the ultimate test in hard enduro. It’s a brutal course carved into the iron ore mountain of Erzberg, Austria, where only a small number of riders finish the main race each year. For 2026, Stark Varg riders will enter through the Open Class Prologue Qualification looking to progress directly into Sunday’s Main Race. To support electric participation, Red Bull Erzbergrodeo has put dedicated event-side infrastructure in place, including an emission-free charging station in the Erzbergrodeo Arena, an additional powered location on the mountain, and a permitted battery-swapping point at the same course location as traditional refueling, where service crews are authorized to assist.
We recently toured the Stark Future headquarters in Barcelona, Spain and talked with Sebastian Tortelli about growing the brand in the racing world. Click the video below to see the full interview.
