Huge crashes, single moments that shaped the results, history-making, and great racing – Enduro21 Notebook from the opening round of the SuperEnduro World Championship.

Is it just us or did the first round of the 2026 SuperEnduro World Championship arrive like a bullet this season? We feel like we’ve only just washed the dirt off the outdoor racing season and suddenly we’re breathing the fumes of an arena in Poland, the traditional starting point to SuperEnduro.

And what a start, with an impressively packed arena in Gliwice and a 100-strong entry list filling a backstage paddock area the likes of which we’ve rarely seen – this sport is in rude health.

Round one in Poland promised much and it delivered, with the world champion fending off fresh challenges for the win, predictably you might say, but with a whole heap of stories behind the results and headlines. These are the top five talking points from Gliwice...

Billy rides the storm

You’re unlikely to find too many people who didn’t think Billy Bolt would start the defence of his SuperEnduro World Championship title by winning round one of 2026.

Five down and a record-equalling sixth to aim at this season, Billy’s mastery of indoor enduro is already legendary – and who’d bet against him?

Well, there were a few, with his rivals on the start list bringing different expectations to round one. Could anyone challenge the champ this year?

The answer is yes, but the reality was no. Despite mistakes in practice and some frustration at his own crashes, Billy nailed a faster time than anyone else in SuperPole, finally piecing the lap together when it mattered most. The big man was already showing the pre-race hype was all hot air.

He later told how the track didn’t really lend itself to any “Billy” lines or sections where he could pull something extra out of the bag to gain an advantage. Yeah, whatevs Bill.

Come the races, it was still Bolt’s skills, yes, but also his determination and physical dominance into the first turns which saw him put himself in the best positions while others faltered.

Anyone trying to better him off the gate or in turn one had no choice but to fight for it. Billy’s like an immovable object for anyone else on the start line – and they know it.

Race two was the only chink in the armour with the reverse-grid start. Bolt tailed Jonny Walker as they carved through the pack to arrive at the front a third of the way through the moto. Chasing the Triumph’s rear fender, Bolt missed his back brake on the log matrix, went too heavy on the front and hit the deck pretty hard, stoving that shiny Red Bull helmet paint job into a log.

That P2 was an important win for Walker, but not the end of the world for Billy, who otherwise rode mistake-free all night – a contrast to 12 months earlier in Poland where the amazing crowd lifted Dominik Olszowy as Bill made mistakes on a much more troubled night.

The point is the world champ rode the storm of pre-season hype: Walker coming in hot, EnduroGP World Champion Josep Garcia signing up, and arriving with not much training time after a late finish to the Hard Enduro World Championship (along with Mani Lettenbichler and the Brightmore brothers).

There were enough hurdles there to catch the big man out at this opening GP of the season, but he still claimed 60 points, the red plate, has a 12-point margin already over his nearest rival, and remains the rider to beat.

Fastest Rider Award winner’s costly SuperPole mistake

More power now he’s on a 450, a second settled season with the Triumph Racing Enduro Team, a fresh AMA EnduroCross title in his pocket and looking as fighting fit as we’ve ever seen him, Jonny Walker has a strong deck of cards this SuperEnduro season.

Practice sessions don’t tell you everything, but they do give you signs, and Jonny was quick from the get-go on the Gliwice track, piecing it together and ultimately going fastest in the morning sessions.

Come the night races, Walker impressively claimed the inaugural Acerbis Fastest Rider Award (new for this season across all FIM classes). He also showed an ability to come through the pack which is becoming a trademark – and which helped him win moto two.

But there’s no getting away from the fact his night would have been a lot easier if he hadn’t had to do that. A simple mistake in SuperPole was an easy one to make but had big consequences with a poor gate pick.

It meant that in motos one and three the Triumph rider couldn’t avoid getting shoved wide by the pack as they peeled into the first turn, putting Jonny on the back foot and giving him a mountain to climb while Bolt ran free out front.

Both Triumph Racing team boss Paul Edmondson and Jonny saw the positives, while sucking in air about the simple SuperPole error. They did the best they could but left the Gliwice arena knowing it could have been a different story. Twelve points down already is a problem.

The positive is Team Triumph are clearly bringing more to the table this year and it bodes well for the rest of the season.

Live together, train together, race together… crash together

Comfortably on the pre-race list of podium contenders, the biggest question surrounding Mitch and Ash Brightmore was which one of them would be on top.

Their situation is unique: world-class riders on the same team, bikes, training regime and basically living the same professional athlete lives.

It’s a huge benefit to have your biggest rival next to you because it spurs on training and the natural competitive instinct that is evident between them. It spills onto the track, clearly aiding their upward trajectory in the rankings with the X-Grip Enduro Racing team. Their ability to knock out fast laps, lap after lap like Duracell bunnies, is fast becoming a trademark.

But what’s the age-old saying in motor racing about your team-mate being the first person you have to beat? Imagine when it’s your brother.

In the melee of the first two turns in Gliwice it was a bun fight in every race. In Prestige moto three, Ash made a small mistake with big consequences, taking himself and Mitch down hard.

The consequences were painful for Ash, who had to retire and left the arena on crutches with an ankle injury. It was an easy mistake to make in the circumstances when both were gunning for a podium and, in the end, it kept them both off it.

Admitting he knew his brother didn’t do it deliberately, the anger was nevertheless clear in Mitchell’s eyes after the race. He felt his night had been ruined. His brother’s face was equally as pained by that harsh truth as it was by the pain in his lower leg.

After such a long time off the bike this season due to injury, Ash clearly wanted to show he was right back in the podium mix. He showed it in moto one in a battle with Walker where he ultimately ended the fight by riding over the factory Triumph to take P3.

That’s racing, the philosophers will tell you, and we’re pretty sure this no-nonsense family will already know each other’s opinions on the matter in private.

The main thing is we hope the injury isn’t too bad for Ash – they live to fight another day at round two in Riesa on January 3.

“I really don’t know what to say” – Karlsson’s first podium for Stark

For all the above, the 4-4-3 scorecard clocked by Eddie Karlsson went under the radar somewhat, but the resulting third overall finally brought a feel-good factor to the night’s podium celebrations.

Eddie’s face showed he was as surprised as anyone to have made it up there alongside Billy and Jonny. Sure, no one is racing for feel-good factors at this level – this is serious – but it was hard not to appreciate what it meant for Eddie to take a first SuperEnduro World Championship podium.

Karlsson’s skills suit the indoors and he was honing them on the rocks and logs long before he got the call-up from Stark Future. But we also know it has been a harder process than many riders face to get the best from this bike – particularly after last year’s nonsense from the FIM with weight and power restrictions (long since proven unnecessary and ditched).

Eddie told us his 2025 season had been a bit of a mess in terms of planning races and training. Races on, then off, others called at the last minute like Romaniacs – it was hard to know what to focus on.

The one thing he says he did keep doing, however, was SuperEnduro training. It paid off, and he deserved the maiden podium on merit, regardless of the Brightmore blunder.

It was also a historic moment for Spanish-based manufacturer Stark, who found themselves on an FIM World Championship podium for the first time.

Josep Garcia – “I want more”

An equally happy face sat in the KTM pit area at the finish of the night’s action, albeit one dripping with sweat and, for once, without champagne.

Josep Garcia had five days converting his mindset – and the same 250 EXC-F bike he raced at the final GP in Germany – to the more specialised skills of SuperEnduro.

The message from his maiden indoor race? “I loved it, I want more,” and don’t be surprised to see him back at another round this season.

Josep told us he felt there was too much hype before this SuperEnduro season opener and that he had no expectation of being able to challenge the likes of Bolt or Walker. His goal, he said, was simply to make SuperPole and then see what happened. His only focus in GPs is to win, whereas here it was more about learning and riding with no pressure for a change.

Riding with his trademark aggressive throttle hand, revving the nuts off the bike in the sand section and over the big jump, the SuperPole goal achieved and a front-row start translated to sixth overall on the night. The result could have been better but for placing dead last at the start of moto two in the first-turn scuffles – something he’s also not used to.

We know Josep’s an alien in enduro and his record in the EnduroGP Super Test and Extreme tests is not shabby. All-round skills are required in enduro and Josep has them by the trainload.

“I learned with every lap,” he added. “I felt like I was gaining experience all the way through and by the final moto I was happy with my riding and very relaxed on the track. I would really like to do some more.” Watch this space.

A.O.B.

Over 100 official entries – reduced to 99 after a handful injured themselves prior to the weekend – is an official record for the SuperEnduro World Championship.

It shows the healthy condition the series is in right now, with Prestige, Junior, Youth, European and Kids classes all fit to bursting point, and organisers having to turn people away.

It shines through in the racing and in the paddock too, with each class looking more competitive and more professional, dare we say, as you see the effort many are making to not just be there but to be competitive.

We’ve focused here on the Prestige class and the headline makers of the sport, but that’s not to forget the Juniors, Youth and other classes. The vibes were good in the paddock and in the packed Gliwice Arena. It’s all good. Roll on Riesa at the start of January.

Photo Credit: Future7Media | Andrea Belluschi