Red Bull Romaniacs announce four new classes for Adventure and electric motorcycles at the 2025 edition of the Hard Enduro Rallye next July.

One week away from registrations opening for the 2025 Red Bull Romaniacs on October 1 (at 12:00 Eastern Europe Time), the organisers have announced new Adventure and electric bike classes for the 22nd edition of the Hard Enduro Rallye next July.

The existing Gold, Silver, Bronze, Iron and Atom classes give plenty of options already but picking the right class to compete at Romaniacs is a tricky choice given the, as they call it, the “hero” or “zero” outcome of choosing the wrong one for your ability.

With increasing numbers of adventure bike riders attracted to the event by the likes of Pol Tarres, plus the growing force that is the electric motorcycle sector, the Red Bull Romaniacs race director Martin Freinademetz has had to move with the times.

Four new classes

To that end they have announced four new classes for 2025: two for Adventure motorcycles; the Ultimate Class and Lite Class, and two classes for E-Moto motorcycles; Expert Class and Hobby Class.

That means if you want to race an Adventure bike or an electric bike, both categories of motorcycles have an entry/hobby and a more advanced/expert level options, opening up the opportunity for more of varying abilities on a wider range of bikes to take part in the race.

Enduro21 asked the race organisers for clarification if you can enter either adventure or electric bikes in the main categories and it remains the same for Adv bikes, special consideration for expert riders like Tarres, Chris Birch or Kevin Gallas into the main categories. Chiefly thats because the organsiers don't want riders on big bikes blocking the course. For most riders on the big bikes these new classes open up the doors to race.

As for electric bikes, riders who want to go big can compete in the Silver class if they are factory-supported and have multiple batteries available. This ensures that they have the capability to complete the course without issue, the organisers tell Enduro21.

“Ultimate” class – the best riding you’ll do on an adventure bike

The Ultimate Class tracks will be based on the Atom Class which consist of some technical challenges but nothing the bigger, heavier bikes can’t cope with.

The more hobby rider-focused Lite Class tracks will consist of more gravel, horse wagon tracks, log pulling trails with some flowy and wider singletracks and less off camber tracks.

They say competitors can still expect some natural mountain enduro obstacles, but it is not about destroying the big bikes and this should be on any bucketlist for riding an adventure bike (in our humble opinion), becasue the Carpathian Mountains are incredible to ride in. Even so, Romaniacs point out you’ll need to train physical and mental fitness to make it through, it’s no walk in the park.

Although the likes of Pol Tarres, Chris Birch and last year Kevin Gallas have taken the big bikes to success the Silver, Bronze and Iron categories, there has never been an Extreme Hard Enduro event tailored for “big bikes”.

The stipulations for the Adventure Class motorcycles are that they are multi-cylinder (minimum of two cylinders) and that’s about it. Single cylinder adventure style bikes can compete but in the existing race classes.

Prolog creator, Andy Fazekas has announced that he will construct an Adventure bike specific prologue track too consisting of more negotiable obstacles adding more spectator candy to the city event.

Freinademetz explains the Adventure bike classes:

Electric bikes tested in 2024 – “adapted” entry fees

The introduction of the E-Moto Class is Romaniacs wanting to keep moving forward with the sport and as they say continue to emphasise a commitment towards environmental awareness.

The 2024 Limitless Edition was the first year to see the E-Motos hit the Romaniacs tracks with seven E-Moto riders following a variety of classes testing their capability in hard enduro rallye distances and technicality.

It was a test run if you like with those riders giving valuable feedback and insight towards the creation of the first year of the specific classes.

Freinademetz and Track Director, Teo Isac, are aware of the fact that the distance and technicality of the tracks may need to be adjusted nearer to the start date to keep up with the technology of the bikes.

But typically the length of the E-Moto tracks will be in the region of 35 km before the Service Point and 20 km after, having had time to recharge the battery.

E-Moto classes will compete on the same 2025 Prolog track as the other classes. However with the shorter race tracks and rallye capabilities of the E-Moto, the entry fee will be adapted to make it more inviting.

Martin Freinademetz: “We really want to be the first rallye style event to be a part of the E-Moto development, we don’t know which direction things will go but we want to support the industry and I think Red Bull Romaniacs is a very good test for the E-Moto bikes. We want to be part of the future in this sector and are excited to be the first hard enduro rallye to introduce two classes for E-Moto’s.

“We see a very strong development in the adventure sector. There are many companies building motorcycles in this size range for this kind of off and on road riding; Ducati, Triumph, Fantic as well as the existing brands such as KTM, Honda, BMW, Yamaha and Suzuki.

“We also have a lot of followers who like the Romaniacs movement and who are riding on bigger motorcycles. As Romania's Carpathian Mountains offer great landscape and huge adventure it is a natural fit for the adventure bike. We are combining the big adventure with the big bikes.

“I am really looking forward to the new classes and the growth of the hard enduro sport, we like to stay one step ahead and I think we will be doing that this year in our exciting twenty second edition.”

Freinademetz explains the electric bike classes:

Photo Credit: Red Bull