On May 21, enduro racers gathered at the Sauriešu quarries in Ropažu district to compete in the newly created Hard enduro discipline competition – Firestarter 2023! In total, 49 athletes entered the starting line at the event, in two test classes – Sports class and Hobby class.
The Sauries quarry, which has been visited by many motorsport enthusiasts, is a unique place in Latvia, as it has natural enduro obstacles that cannot be found anywhere else in our country, making it an ideal training and competition ground. The organizer of the event, Artūrs Irbe, representing the Moto adventure club “apPasaule”, says: “I have been thinking about the possibility of organizing an enduro competition in this area for a long time, because it is very suitable for it due to its natural terrain and many riders regularly use it for training. That’s why I’ve been working diligently for several years both with the municipality of Ropaži district and personally creating the track, thinking that primarily I, as an athlete, would find it interesting and quite challenging, until I finally managed to get all the necessary approvals so that the event could take place.”
The competition started with a qualifying race, in which the athletes had to show the maximum possible time on a specially prepared obstacle course, which further determined the starting place for the basic distance. In the continuation, the riders went on the big track and tried to cross as many checkpoints on the track as possible within a three-hour period. Although the long distance course was just over 5km long, most athletes only completed a couple of laps in the three hour time trial, which proves the true toughness of the course. The most successful athlete completed 7.5 laps during the control time, collecting 74 control points.
Kristaps Kīlis won the leader’s honor in the sports class, the second place went to the Estonian athlete Jurto Brauer, while Kārlis Reinfelds reached the finish line as the third.
In the hobby class, Māris Biruls showed the best results, the second place went to Rolandas Indriksons, and the third place was Welters Brock.
In general, the competition can be evaluated as successful and interesting, which is recognized by the athletes, its organizers and also by the many fans who gathered on the sides of the track.
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