The great enduro festival, which is traditionally celebrated every year around this time in Bassella (Lleida), has once again proven itself as the most important mass off-road event in our country.
Bassella Race1 started on Saturday with more than 1,100 drivers at the start, the vast majority of them having already competed before in the different afternoon races that were followed live by numerous spectators who enjoyed the competitions and visiting a complete paddock.
In the MaxiTrail Race Alfredo Gómez made his debut, although with inferior conditions since most of his opponents battled with powerful MaxiTrails of more than 700cc and as there was no class distinction, it left Gómez at a disadvantage, despite this, the Spectators were able to see the possibilities of the new Aventura 500.
The highlight of the afternoon came with the Xtreme Race, where the Rieju Factory Team riders were able to show their potential by riding the MR 300 PRO.
During the first qualifying races, Dominik Olszowy made a good demonstration of technique to finish after five laps in second position, Will Hoare finished fifth. Then, in the second qualifying race it was Alfredo Gómez who finished third, with Eric Miquel in tenth position.
With these outstanding results, all of them qualified for the SuperPole Xtreme, a race in which Gómez was third, Olszowy fifth and Hoare eighth. A promising classification, leaving the Rieju Factory riders very well positioned for the last race of the afternoon.
The final Xtreme Race was again very exciting and spectacular, where an intense battle was lived in the leading group, all of them with a high pace from the beginning. Alfredo Gómez was in second place very close to the leader, while Olszowy was third, until halfway through the race when Dominik made a strong attack, overtaking Alfredo and completing up to seven intense laps, to finally cross the checkered flag in second place. Alfredo Gómez came in behind, completing the podium in third place. A fantastic result with a double for RIEJU. For his part, Eric Miquel, further behind, would enter in eleventh position, with William Hoare in seventeenth.
Sunday's day was a change of scenery, with the participants riding a Cross Country type course with a total of 120km through the forest and maintaining the spectacular start with all the riders at the same time. On this second day, the Rieju Factory members taking on the competition were Dominik Olszowy and Rosie Rowett. Once again, early in the morning the fog complicated visibility a bit, with the terrain being wet, ideal for enduro. Dominik Olszowy started out in the front group and after a few kilometers, on this first lap he was seventh in the provisional general classification, but unfortunately he hit his bike and was forced to abandon the race. On the other hand, Rosie Rowett, who was competing for the first time in this event, was doing her own race and without problems, was placed as leader among the women, a position she did not abandon until she reached the finish line as the winner in her class.
Respecto al Rieju Academy by Massoni, destacar la tercera posición en el podio final de Guillem Inglés en la clase Júnior PRO.
Dominik Olszowy:
“Bassella Race1 was a mix of everything I like: Motocross, Extreme and of course, Superenduro. The format suited me very well and I felt confident on the track. On Saturday it was an incredible feeling to climb with the Spanish bike to the podium of the most important Enduro race in Spain. I'm looking forward to having more opportunities to test my Rieju in this kind of competitions.”.
Alfredo Gómez:
“In the MaxiTrail Race we went out to get some experience to see what was out there, as I only tested the bike for one day. We learned a lot from the race and I think we will be able to do more things, we didn't have any goal in this race, just to participate and that's what we did.
In the final of the Hard Enduro I did not start very well, as I got a little stuck in the softer ground and I was delayed a little, then I managed to recover and place third, in a failure Dominik overtook me and escaped me. Walker stayed between the lapped riders and I managed to overtake him, finishing third. Well, I could have been further ahead, I would have liked to fight a little more to win, but with such a fast course and perfect conditions, it was very difficult to overtake, everyone was going very fast, really. Good, two Rieju on the podium!"
Rosie Rowett:
"It has been good. I enjoyed a very good weekend competing in my first Basella. The start was very spectacular, I managed to position myself well and I didn't suffer any crashes What a crazy race! not stopping until completing the 62 km, it was crazy, but I really enjoyed it and I felt great on the bike. Thanks to Rieju and the team for all their support".
