The DOWATEK HardEnduroSeries Germany season finally got underway on Saturday evening. The first race was the Heaven or Hell Superenduro, where the first victory of the season was contested in front of a large crowd. On Sunday, in the best spring weather, the first race of the season followed on what was probably the most difficult track in the history of the HESG.

Facts, Heaven or Hell Xtreme Enduro, Crimmitschau, Season Race 1 from 6

 Weather: 20 degrees, cloudy

GIBSON Tyretech Prolog Award Winner: Leon Hentschel (GasGas), 0:54,486

Winner: Kevin Gallas (GasGas)

Fastes Lap: Leon Hentschel (GasGas), 20:03,538

Heaven or Hell Superenduro in front of a large crowd Leon Hentschel secures victory

Just in time for the start of the Heaven or Hell Superenduro, the wind had cleared from the area in Gablenz, so nothing stood in the way of an exciting Superenduro, which was planned as a side event.

The best 12 riders entered the final over 6 minutes + 1 lap via several preliminaries. Milan Schmüser was unlucky and got stuck at the first tyre obstacle at the start, which pushed him back to the end of the field. He fought his way up to third place with a crazy race to catch up. At the front, Leon Hentschel circled lonely in front of Marc Wulf and drove to victory in commanding fashion.

225 participants battled for the best time in the GIBSON Tyretech Prolog Award

In the GIBSON Tyretech Prolog Award, the organisers and also the riders were faced with new tasks. Never before had there been so many participants at the start, so the schedule had been tightened up somewhat. Nevertheless, the prologue was completed in a good 60 minutes and no participant was hindered by traffic jams. This is also shown by the fact that series returnee Kevin Gallas finished in 4th place with a rear starting number. Leon Hentschel also set another best time in the morning and was able to take the first victory of the day.

Maria Franke first women's winner in the history of the HESG

For the first time, there was a women's classification in the HESG. The ladies were classified in Group Race 2 and dueled there in the 90-minute race. Maria Franke had already laid the foundation for victory in the Prolog Award with a fast riding time. As the race progressed, the former world champion continued to pull away and was able to win ahead of Eva Täuber and Samantha Buhmann.

Next Level in the final - Gallas wins the race

The HET Reinsdorf had announced before the event that the course would become much more demanding in the final. This was also evident immediately after the start with many new sections. Kevin Gallas took his chance at the beginning to take the lead. The first champion of the HardEnduroSeries Germany also pulled away a little bit and was able to use this advantage in front of the reigning champion Leon Hentschel. In the end, Hentschel even had to deal with Marc Wulf, who came dangerously close to the North German.

Chris Gundermann was a positive surprise: in his first ever extreme enduro race, the former MX rider from Thuringia finished in 4th place. Probably few had expected that.

Schmüser, Dietrich and Braun are the other winners

There is a much fuller field in the senior ranking. With Rene Dietrich, there is a new winner in the seniors' category, the middle-aged man beat the former champion Dirk Peter. This means that even Timo Jungmann, the reigning champion, is struggling to keep up. Third place is nevertheless a satisfactory start for him.

Milan Schmüser is the first winner of the Auto Center Erzgebirge Junior classification. However, he was not satisfied with 5th place in the championship standings, as he lost too much time on a slip road in the first lap, the gap to the top was too big.

The best amateur placed 27th and was Jakob Braun, still a relatively unknown pilot. Behind him was Andreas Igl, who had a mammoth programme; he came directly from Serbia from the Xross and even managed the feat of finishing second in Crimmitschau.

The next round of the DOWATEK HardEnduroSeries Germany will take place next Saturday. You can still enter for this race in Hamma.

Information on the DOWATEK HardEnduroSeries Germany is available at any time at www.hardenduro-germany.de.

Photos: GrenzNic640 & Michel238Pic