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Lettenbichler Sweeps Abestone HEWC Round 5; Opens 24-Point Lead

At Abestone Hard Enduro (Val di Luce / Abetone, Italy, Sep 4-6), Manuel Lettenbichler (Red Bull KTM) swept every points-paying segment for the maximum 33 points, won Sunday’s Gold Final in 2:07:12.9, and stretched his FIM Hard Enduro World Championship lead to 24 over Mitch Brightmore.

Trail Roamer Editorial TeamSep 7, 2026 · Updated · 3 min read
Red Bull KTM team celebrating around Lettenbichler's muddy KTM after the Abestone Hard Enduro, mountain behind - Credit: KTM Racing
GalleryMore angles(2)
A Red Bull KTM rider picks through the rocks in front of the crowd at Abestone HEWC Round 5. - Credit: KTM Racing / media
The Abestone podium, with the Red Bull KTM rider on the top step. - Credit: KTM Racing / media

Manuel Lettenbichler (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) dominated round five of the 2026 FIM Hard Enduro World Championship at Abestone Hard Enduro in the Tuscan-Emilian Apennines above Abetone, Italy, September 4-6. Per KTM’s factory release and MCNews’ full results card, the reigning champion swept every scoring segment for the maximum 33 points, won Sunday’s two-hour-plus-one-lap Gold Final in 2:07:12.9 after six laps, and moved to 150 championship points - a 24-point cushion over Mitch Brightmore (GASGAS).

Abestone is the Italian rock-and-roots stop on the HEWC calendar - not Red Bull Tennessee Knockout. Trail Roamer already covered TKO at Sequatchie separately; this story covers the world-championship weekend that followed Forza Orza in Sweden. Round five opened with Lettenbichler on 117 points, Brightmore on 102, and Teodor Kabakchiev (Sherco) holding a slim edge over Ashton Brightmore in the fight for third. Dry rock, roots, streams, and sustained climbs in Val di Luce replaced Sweden’s slippery mud.

Saturday: Prologue and Gold Sprint

Qualification doubled as the Prologue points segment. Lettenbichler set 6:59.14, 0.79 seconds clear of Billy Bolt (Husqvarna) at 6:59.93, with Junior contender James Moore (Beta) third in 7:04.22. Lettenbichler then led the Gold Sprint Race start to finish - the only rider to reach the fifth checkpoint on lap three - posting a fastest lap of 20:17.7. Moore finished second and Ashton Brightmore third on the outright Sprint podium; Mitch Brightmore recovered to fourth while Bolt, despite the second-fastest Sprint lap, finished seventh. The non-championship Straight Rhythm under lights went to Bolt and set Sunday’s Gold Final pole.

Sunday Gold Final

Starting from the front, Lettenbichler controlled from lap one. His best lap of 18:33.1 was more than a minute quicker than anyone else managed. A late river tip-over while pushing the gap to Mitch Brightmore did not repeat the mechanical scare that nearly cost him Sweden. He finished six laps in 2:07:12.9 - his fourth HEWC win from five rounds. Brightmore was the only rider inside realistic range at 2:13:20.3 (24 weekend points, fourth podium of five). Kabakchiev took third in 2:14:54.6 after a mid-pack scrap with Moore and Mario Román (Husqvarna); Moore’s fourth (2:19:26.2) was also top Junior, and Román completed the six-lap finishers in fifth. Bolt, still rebuilding after months off, finished 12th on five laps after illness and fitness limited Sunday.

Standings and quotes

Standings after Abestone (per MCNews): 1 Lettenbichler KTM 150; 2 Mitch Brightmore GASGAS 126; 3 Kabakchiev Sherco 94; 4 Ashton Brightmore GASGAS 91; 5 Bolt Husqvarna 77; 6 Román Husqvarna 76; 7 Moore Beta 69. Junior: Ashton leads 154, Moore closes to 147. Three rounds remain (max 99 points still available): Roof of Africa (Lesotho, Sep 23-26), Sea to Sky (Turkey), and 24MX Hixpania (Spain).

Lettenbichler thanked the Italian crowd and called the track “really raceable,” noting the late river crash while extending the gap to Brightmore. Bolt called it a difficult weekend overall - his fifth race back after four months off - and said he wants the two-week break before South Africa to rebuild speed.

Who should care

If you follow hard enduro for bike choice and season narrative, Abestone is the Mani max-points chapter - factory-press confirmation that the 300 EXC package plus fitness still separates the field when the rocks stay dry. Dual-sport and club enduro riders should treat HEWC’s multi-segment format as its own pacing problem (prologue, sprint, long final), not a GNCC woods loop. Read KTM’s primary release for factory framing, MCNews for the full Gold/Junior/Silver tables, then Trail Roamer’s TKO results and 2027 KTM 300 EXC HARDENDURO page for U.S. hard-enduro context.

Further reading: KTM press and MCNews.

Results

FIM Hard Enduro World Championship · Round 5 - Abestone Hard Enduro (Italy)

Gold Final overall

  1. 1

    Manuel Lettenbichler

    KTM

    2:07:12.9 (6 laps)
  2. 2

    Mitch Brightmore

    GASGAS

    2:13:20.3 (6 laps)
  3. 3

    Teodor Kabakchiev

    Sherco

    2:14:54.6 (6 laps)
Updated Sep 7, 2026Official source

Sources

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