There’s No Denying Stark’s Future’s Place in Enduro After Its Insane Erzbergrodeo Results. EVs Are Here to Stay

Stark Future competed at an Erzbergrodeo main event for the first time ever, and not many were prepared for how well the electric motorcycle manufacturer did.

Photo by: Stark Future

By: Robbie Bacon

Jun 10, at 8:04am ET

Add RideApart as a preferred source in Google

Comment

The Erzbergrodeo is widely recognized as the toughest 1-day hard enduro event in the world. This year, 500 bikes spun dirt at the start line and, like most years, a tiny percent of them crossed the finish line within the allowed time. What's even more insane than the fact that just 15 bikes finished is that two of those were Stark Vargs, and until this year, electric motorcycles weren't even permitted to race in the main event.

Of the 500 bikes taking part in the Erzbergrodeo, 23 of those were Stark Vargs, and, amazingly, three Stark riders made it into the Prologue top ten, and two finished the main event inside the top 12 riders. What's equally as incredible is that Thursday's REMUS Rocket Ride saw Stark Future lock out the top four positions.

Sébastien Tortelli, Stark Future Racing Director and REMUS Rocket Ride winner, said, "Winning the Rocket Ride was special, but what made me most proud was seeing the entire team perform throughout the week. We came here to compete, not to participate. To leave Erzberg with a victory, a complete Rocket Ride podium, multiple top-ten Prologue performances, and two riders inside the top twelve of the main race shows how far this program has come."

I wouldn't say the event showed absolute Stark Future dominance—it's not a million miles away from that—but rather that this is probably as good as anyone could ask for for a brand's first attempt at completing every stage of the Erzbergrodeo. And apart from the Rocket Ride lockout and high main-event finishes, the story of Eddie Karlsson's race is inspiring in its own right.

Karlsson is a Stark Future factory rider and has already brought the manufacturer plenty of success in hard enduro and superenduro events. Still, it looked like he was going to be out of the main event at Erzbergrodeo before he ever really got going. Before the race had properly begun, a starting incident damaged Karlsson's rear brake, forcing him to tackle Erzberg without rear stopping power. But Karlsson ventured on and adapted the regeneration settings on the fly and his riding style throughout the race to finish ninth overall.

Photo by: Stark Future

What do you think?

View

Comments

Karlsson said, "Finishing inside the top ten at Erzberg is something every hard enduro rider dreams about. Losing the rear brake before the race even started wasn't part of the plan, but we adapted and kept moving. The bike performed exactly as we needed it to, and bringing a Varg into the top ten at Erzberg is something the whole team should be proud of."

It's worth pondering where Karlsson would've finished if his rear brake hadn't lost function before the start of the race. I'm sure plenty of racers and maybe the event organizers will be thinking the same thing. The riders came to compete in the same class as all the ICE bikes, and compete they did.