Jonny Walker made his much anticipated FIM Hard Enduro comeback at the renowned Redbull Erzergrodeo at the weekend. Even though he is not competing in the 2023 FIM Championship, the 3-time winner at the "Iron Giant" penned this into his race calendar, after missing last year's event through injury. 

Since Jonny has been solely focussing pretty much on indoor events, winning the 2022 AMA EnduroCross Championship and coming 2nd in the 2023 FIM SuperEnduro Championship after recovering from injury, he came to Erzberg "not really knowing where he would end up".

Erzbergrodeo Prologue

The prologue sorts out the starting order for the main event - 1500 riders have 2 runs at the "Iron Road Prolog" to record their fastest time, the top 500 then get a starting place for Sunday's main event, referred to as the Erzbergrodeo Hare Scramble. Rider's start in rows of 50, so it pays to get a fast time in order to start on the front row. Jonny managed the 8th quickest time in the Prologue on his Beta 300 RR. It was clear that his speed was there, it was now a case of seeing if his endurance and technically ability were still at the highest level.

Jonny on the way to 8th fastest in the Erzbergrodeo Prologue. Ph. @igorod

Erzbergrodeo Hare Scramble

If there were any doubters to Jonny being still one of the top Hard Enduro Riders in the World, they were proved wrong on Sunday. After a decent start placing him in the top 10 through the first few check-points, the Beta man started to pick off the riders ahead of him, including Bulgaria's Teodor Kabakchiev, Poland's Dominik Olszowy and then Sherco Factory Racing's Wade Young, moving him into 4th Place.

He also closed in on 2022 podium man, FMF KTM Factory Racing's Trystan Hart from Canada, who made a navigational error, allowing Jonny to briefly pass into 3rd. It was then nip and tuck between Jonny and Trystan before the KTM rider got a gap in a forest section in the latter part of the race.

Jonny was able to consolidate 4th place however, keeping the Sherco of Wade Young behind in 5th, as well as 5-time winner of Erzbergrodeo - Hard Enduro Legend Graham Jarvis, who came 6th. Of special note, the 48 year old Jarvis Magpul Racing Husqvarna man had picked his way through the field from a 2nd row start, highlighting his legendary status!

Jonny on the "Iron Giant". Ph. @igorod

Erzbergrodeo Finishers

Jonny Walker finished in 4th place in a time of 2 hours 59 mins, 1 hour within the 4 hour cut-off time for the Erzbergrodeo. It was great to see him ride so well as essentially a privateer and be up there with the best Factory Riders.

This year, 17 riders made the finish within the time limit, including 6 rider's from Great Britain, with Mitch Brightmore and then Will Hoare on their GasGas machines, coming in just before the 4 hour klaxon sounded to indicate the end of the race.

Top 5 finishers:

1. Manuel Lettenbichler (GER) - Redbull KTM Factory Racing
2. Billy Bolt (GB) - Husqvarna Factory Racing
3. Trystan Hart (CAN) - FMF KTM Factory Racing
4. Jonny Walker (GB) - Beta

5. Wade Young (RSA) - Sherco Factory Racing

Jonny on his Beta 300 RR in 4th place approaching a checkpoint. Ph. @igorod

AS3 Performance parts used by Jonny for the Erzbergrodeo 2023

Jonny ran a number of our hard and protection parts on his Beta 300 RR for the event, including clutch cover, rear brake disc guard as well as our master cylinder covers. We look forward to supporting Jonny throughout the rest of his 2023 season.