Lettenbichler wins Sea to Sky as Kabakchiev disputes disqualification

2026 Hard Enduro World Championship

Round Seven – Sea To Sky – Turkiye

Manuel Lettenbichler recovered from a difficult opening two days to claim his third consecutive Sea to Sky victory, charging from the third row of the grid to win the Mountain Race at the penultimate round of the 2026 FIM Hard Enduro World Championship.

Mitch Brightmore had dominated Thursday’s Beach Race before Teodor Kabakchiev set the pace in Friday’s Forest Race, but Lettenbichler delivered when the event reached its toughest terrain. The Red Bull KTM rider completed Saturday’s 64-kilometre Mountain Race in 3h40m01.78s.

The result behind him changed after the finish, with Kabakchiev’s disqualification promoting Mario Román to second and James Moore to third. The Sherco rider has since challenged the decision in a detailed statement, saying spectators intervened without being asked after barbed wire tangled in his rear wheel. The latest posted championship figures leave Lettenbichler 32 points ahead of Mitch Brightmore with only Hixpania remaining.

Brightmore makes the perfect start

Mitch Brightmore was the rider to beat on Kındıl Beach. The Briton topped qualifying with a 1m32.61s lap, nearly six seconds clear of his nearest rival, then won all three of his heats before completing an unbeaten day in the superfinal.

Brightmore’s winning time of 8m50.02s put him 11.34 seconds ahead of Kabakchiev. Moore finished another 1.20 seconds behind the Sherco rider in third, followed by Ashton Brightmore and Lettenbichler.

Alfredo Gómez, Toby Shaw, Román, Dieter Rudolf and David Cyprian completed the top ten. The opening points went to Mitch Brightmore, Kabakchiev and Moore, while the results also established the starting order for Friday’s Forest Race.

Kabakchiev quickest in the forest

Kabakchiev arrived in Türkiye on the back of his breakthrough world championship round victory at the Roof of Africa and carried that form into the Forest Race. He topped Friday’s classification in 1h45m02s, 50 seconds ahead of Moore, with Mitch Brightmore third.

Ashton Brightmore placed fourth ahead of Cyprian, while Graham Jarvis took sixth on his electric Jarv-E. Rudolf, Gómez, Shaw and Luke Walker rounded out the first ten.

For Lettenbichler, however, the day brought brake trouble and a 10-minute penalty, leaving him 15th and facing a third-row start for the Mountain Race. Román also received a Forest Race penalty and would start the decisive day from 14th.

Lettenbichler charges to the summit

The Mountain Race demanded a different response. Starting behind the leading group, Lettenbichler pushed immediately to work his way through the field, determined to reach the front before the hardest sections.

Lettenbichler said he rode with Kabakchiev after reaching the lead before pulling away to reach the finish on Mount Tahtalı first. Kabakchiev’s subsequent account adds that a late incident with barbed wire cost him valuable time and the opportunity to continue fighting for the win.

Román also recovered from his lowly starting position. The Spaniard worked through the dust and traffic, traded places with Moore and overcame a navigation problem to finish just 10.99 seconds behind Kabakchiev on the original times.

Manuel Lettenbichler

“I really wanted that victory today, but I wasn’t quite sure how it would go. I felt like I needed to get my ‘inner-dog’ out and give it my all. Overall, it’s been an up-and-down event for me. Fifth in the Beach Race, but then having some brake issues in the Forest Race and getting a time penalty put me back to 15th. But throughout all of that, I knew I felt good on the bike and that I just needed to put myself into a good position early on in the Mountain Race. From the third row, I had to push hard. With a good start, I focused on working my way forward as best as I could. When I got into the lead, I rode with Teo for a bit before pulling away. I’m stoked with the win and also strengthening my position in the championship with just one round to go.”

Kabakchiev disputes disqualification

Teodor Kabakchiev has confirmed that his initial 10-minute penalty was changed to disqualification, saying another rider appealed the original decision after the Mountain Race.

In his statement, the Sherco rider explained that barbed wire from a fence became severely tangled in his rear wheel in the Alcatraz section, late in the race. He said he called for an official marshal, but none was available, before nearby spectators stepped in to remove the wire.

Kabakchiev maintains that he did not ask the spectators for assistance. He said no repairs or adjustments were made to his motorcycle and no tools were exchanged; the intervention was solely to cut away the barbed wire.

According to Kabakchiev, the delay dropped him to third before he recovered to cross the line second. He said he accepted the initial 10-minute penalty, but disputed its subsequent escalation, alleging that no new evidence was presented.

Teodor Kabakchiev

“That decision was then appealed by another rider.”

“With no new evidence presented, my ten-minute penalty was changed to a disqualification.”

“The penalty table in our rules reserves disqualification for help a rider asks for.”

“I never asked the spectators for help, and nothing was shown to say I did. After losing my chance to fight for the win, being told I gained an advantage is something I cannot agree with.”

Kabakchiev also questioned the safety of the course and argued that removing a dangerous foreign object should be distinguished from receiving assistance to gain an unfair advantage.

“There should also be accountability for those responsible for the safety and condition of the track. The blame cannot always fall on the rider. Penalising the rider might be the easiest decision, but that doesn’t make it the fairest one.”

These are Kabakchiev’s account of the incident and his interpretation of the rules. The full jury decision and the organisers’ response had not been obtained at the time of writing. His statement does not identify the other rider or announce a further appeal against his disqualification.

The amended order puts Román second, just over four minutes behind Lettenbichler, with Moore third ahead of Mitch Brightmore and Thomas Scales. Ashton Brightmore, Cyprian, Gómez, Danila Chernyaev and Rudolf complete the top ten.

Jarvis moves to 11th in that classification. The six-time Sea to Sky winner also achieved a milestone for his Jarv-E project, becoming the first rider to finish the event on an electric motorcycle.

The amended results and championship figures below remain provisional pending publication of the complete official documentation.

Title fight heads to Hixpania

The posted standings show Lettenbichler on 197 points and Mitch Brightmore on 165. With a maximum of 33 points available at the final round, the championship remains mathematically open heading to Spain on October 23-25.

Kabakchiev is third on 133 points, retaining the 12 he earned across the Beach and Forest races but receiving no Mountain Race points. Ashton Brightmore follows on 123, just three ahead of Moore, with Román sixth on 96.

Moore also enjoyed a particularly productive weekend in the Junior championship, collecting the maximum 33 points. The posted accumulated totals put the South African on 209 and Ashton Brightmore on 206. The Junior series counts the best six of eight rounds towards its final classification; applying that rule to the seven rounds completed still leaves Moore three points ahead, 183 to 180.

2026 Sea To Sky Hard Enduro Results

Mountain Race – Provisional amended classification

Teodor Kabakchiev is excluded from the above classification following his disqualification, which he has disputed in a public statement.

2026 FIM Hard Enduro World Championship Standings

Provisional standings after Round Seven.

2026 FIM HEWC Calendar

The 2026 FIM Hard Enduro World Championship comprises eight rounds across Europe, North America and Africa, reduced from nine following the cancellation of the Wildwoods event.

• Round 1 – 24MX Alestrem Hard Enduro
  April 17-19 – Ales, France
• Round 2 – Extreme XL Lagares
  May 1-3 – Porto, Portugal
• Round 3 – Silver Kings Hard Enduro
  June 18-20 – Idaho/Silver Mountain Resort, United States
• Round 4 – Forza Orza
  August 20-22 – Orsa, Sweden
• Round 5 – Abestone Hard Enduro
  September 4-6 – Abetone, Italy
• Round 6 – Roof of Africa
  September 24-26 – Maseru, Lesotho
• Round 7 – Sea to Sky
  October 8-10 – Kemer, Turkey
• Round 8 – 24MX Hixpania Hard Enduro
  October 23-25 – Aguilar de Campoo, Spain

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