New Zealand’s Chris Birch rewarded himself for the longest journey to the world’s hardest Extreme-Enduro-Rallye, the Romaniacs in Romania, with a well-deserved victory in the legendary inner-city prologue.

The KTM rider showed an incredible performance surfing the man-made obstacles in the city centre of Sibiu (Romania) and secures the pole position for the first race day.

Britain’s Graham Jarvis managed to come in second on his Sherco ahead of the Polish four-time Erzbergrodeo champion and rallye rookie Tadeusz “Taddy” Blazusiak on his two-stroke KTM.

The pouring rain turned the track of man-made obstacles into a breathtaking challenge – even for well-experienced riders like Paul Bolton (Eurotech-KTM, GBR) and Gerhard Forster (GER/Touratech-BMW).

Especially the obstacles made out of wood and rubber tyres became slippery as ice — bringing even the top pro riders close to their limits.

In contrast, “Birchy” appeared to be rain-proof.

Already in the qualifying heats, the Kiwi has been leaving his footprint and left no doubt that he is determined to the max to finally win the Red Bull Romaniacs.

“After a previous third and a second place at the Red Bull Romaniacs I really want to make it to the very top of the podium this year,” said Birch.

“The prologue went really well and I did have the bit of luck you need to win a qualifying race like this – given the difficult wet conditions. I mastered the extremely slippery section with the loose wood very well and was able to leave Graham and Taddy behind.

“Winning the prologue is a big achievement for me since I will be the first to start the real race tomorrow and I will leverage the experience I gained in the past years. The organisers have done a great job in designing a track which was rideable even in these conditions“, Birch said after the race.

Jarvis (Sherco, GBR): “I pushed a little too hard right after the start and lost some traction due to the wet conditions. But Taddy made a little mistake so I was able to pass him. The second place is a good result for me to open the real race tomorrow.”

The Extreme-Enduro dominator, Blazusiak stated about his third place in the Prologue: “I am always determined to win but in the rain turned the track into a dangerous challenge and I must be happy that I got away with the third place, no injuries and no damage to my bike. This is my first ever Rallye and starting from the third place gives me the opportunity to find my way into this racing style without the pressure to lead the pack.”

The 2009 winner, Andi Lettenbichler (GER/BMW-Husqvarna), was pretty happy about his fourth place, too: “Right at the beginning I got stuck in a wood section. However, I was able to pass a lot of riders after this mistake and finally came in fourth. From the previous year I know that this starting number is not bad at all and I will give all I have in order to defend my title.”

The prologue was a real crowd magnet.

Whoever thought that the poor weather conditions would lead to fewer spectators has been proved wrong. This legendary Red Bull Romaniacs inner-city prologue managed to attract even more than 6000 spectators who made some big noise and created an awesome atmosphere especially for those who struggled with themselves in the technically demanding sections.

The heavy rain is expected to turn the overall conditions for all riders into a true nightmare within the upcoming four days – no matter which class each rider is in. But this is exactly the reason why year after year more riders show up in Sibiu: To face this extraordinary challenge to ride against the best of the best in the most difficult terrain on the face of this planet.

© Photo by Andy McGechan, www.BikesportNZ.com

Video from the prologue: