BMW Husqvarna Motorsport team rider Andreas Lettenbichler has claimed a superb runner-up result at the 10th running of the Erzberg Rodeo’s Red Bull Hare Scramble. Beaten only by four-times winner Taddy Blazusiak from Poland, Letti produced a solid start-to-finish performance to place his BMW G 450 X on the second step of the podium after an extremely difficult race. Completing the gruelling event in a time of just under two hours, Letti was one of only 16 finishers.

Qualifying ninth during the prologue, Letti secured an all-important first row starting position for the main Hare Scramble event. Because he didn’t get a great start, his progress during the early stages of the race was slowed due to thick dust. However, Letti pushed hard to move into a top three position well before the halfway stage of the race. Once in a podium position, and knowing that his chances of catching winner Blazusiak were slim, he settled into a steady pace and battled his way up and through the many near impossible climbs.

An experienced Erzberg competitor – having now finished as runner-up on three separate occasions – Letti made light work of one of the hardest ever circuits around Austria’s ‘Iron Giant’ and was more than pleased with his performance. 

Andreas Lettenbichler: "I made a real mess of the start, which made things really difficult for me because I was stuck in the dust. That made things really tricky because you couldn't attack the first section of the track. The guys at the front were able to really push hard, but I had to be really careful. After that I just pushed as hard as I could. 

“At the first checkpoint I think I was behind Graham Jarvis and in front of Dougie Lampkin, I think I was about third. After the second check point I fell down and lost some time. That allowed Graham and Dougie to pass me. I just rode my own race after that and tried to keep my mistakes to a minimum. For me the race was a little harder than last year because there were some new tracks. The second part of the track was tough, like it is every year. Even with a better start there was no way I could have won, as Taddy was incredibly fast. I'm more than happy with second though – I rode well and my bike was incredible. It was tough but a great race, I enjoyed it."

Erzberg Rodeo, Red Bull Hare Scramble results  

1.Taddy Blazusiak (KTM) 1.45:43
2.Andreas Lettenbichler (BMW Husqvarna Motorsport) 1.56:26
3.Dougie Lampkin (Beta) 2.02:26