Mario Roman saved his best for last, claiming a hard-fought victory at the 2026 Hixpania Hard Enduro in Aguilar de Campoo, Spain, October 23-25, the final round of the FIM Hard Enduro World Championship. The Spaniard started seventh to take his first Hixpania win since 2018, holding off newly crowned World Champion Manuel Lettenbichler in a thrilling battle.
Photos by Future7Media
Riding a Husqvarna, Roman worked his way through the field and took the lead about 30 minutes into Sunday’s grueling nine-lap Lost Road main event. From there, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Lettenbichler put relentless pressure on him, and the two exchanged the lead several times.
However, Roman found another gear over the final three laps, gradually pulling away to take the win by one minute. He finished in two hours, 11 minutes and 18.43 seconds, much to the delight of the home crowd.
The Lost Road featured a spectacular cave start before sending approximately 70 riders onto a demanding course around the Caracol Peninsula. The race culminated with the infamous Hixpania Hill, which only the top 10 riders still on the lead lap were allowed to tackle.
Roman’s victory was somewhat unexpected given his earlier results in the weekend. He finished eighth in Friday’s SuperEncierro and seventh in Saturday’s Campoo Xtreme before turning things around when it mattered most.
Lettenbichler settled for second, while Billy Bolt completed the podium, five minutes and 26 seconds behind Roman. Mitch Brightmore finished fourth, followed by James Moore and Ashton Brightmore.
Bolt had been the rider to beat during the opening two days of competition.
Friday’s SuperEncierro featured a series of short, intense races through Hixpania Village, culminating in a 14-rider final. Bolt won with a time of 7:15.10, finishing 5.56 seconds ahead of Ashton Brightmore. Teodor Kabakchiev took third, followed by Mitch Brightmore and Lettenbichler.
Saturday’s Campoo Xtreme moved the action to a 3.7-mile circuit alongside the reservoir, where riders faced one hour of racing plus a lap. Bolt and Lettenbichler battled throughout the eight-lap race, with the German setting the fastest lap on his final circuit in an attempt to steal the victory. Bolt, however, held him off to take the win by just 3.5 seconds.
Ashton Brightmore rounded out the podium, only 9.7 seconds behind Bolt, making it an exceptionally close race among the top three.
Mitch Brightmore was also in the hunt before a reported mechanical issue dropped him out of podium contention. He eventually finished sixth.
While Roman stole the spotlight on Sunday, Lettenbichler had already taken care of the championship business two days earlier.
The KTM rider clinched his fifth consecutive FIM Hard Enduro World Championship on Friday evening, when his fifth-place finish in the SuperEncierro was enough to put the title out of reach of his nearest challenger, Mitch Brightmore.
The championship marked Lettenbichler’s sixth World title overall and capped another dominant season for the German. He arrived in Spain having won five of the previous seven rounds and finished on the podium at every round.
Lettenbichler ultimately ended the season 40 points ahead of runner-up Mitch Brightmore, while Kabakchiev completed the championship podium. Ashton Brightmore and Beta’s James Moore completed the top five in the championship.
“Honestly, it feels surreal to be World Champion again,” Lettenbichler said. “To secure the 2026 FIM Hard Enduro World Championship is an incredible feeling, and I’m super stoked to have clinched my sixth World title and fifth consecutive championship. I didn’t expect to get it done on Friday, as I thought it would come down to the final race, so it was a really nice surprise.
“It was the last race of the season, and we finished second today after an awesome battle with Mario. He was riding unbelievably well, so congratulations to him.”
Moore and Ashton Brightmore battled to the end for the Junior World title. It came down to a whoever-beat-who in the final race to determine the champion. At one point, Brightmore led Moore by two minutes, but Moore and his Beta clawed and scratched their way back to take the crown.CN
2026 FIM Hard Enduro Round 8 Results
Overall (Top 10)
- Mario Roman (Hus)
- Manuel Lettenbichler (KTM)
- Billy Bolt (Hus)
- Mitch Brightmore (GG)
- James Moore (Bet)
- Ashton Brightmore (GG)
- Teo Kabakchiev (She)
- Wade Young (KTM)
- Francesc Moret Clota (Rie)
- Lorenzo Gandola (She)
