Erzbergrodeo hard enduro "off the scale" for British trials privateer

GasGas gave a privateer trials rider factory equipment for the Red Bull Erzbergrodeo enduro, just to see how it went. 

Tom Minta finished as the top-ranked privater in the Scottish Six Days Trial, and GasGas decided to hand him “the full GasGas Factory Racing treatment,” according to GasGas, for the Red Bull Erzbergrodeo. 

There were just six weeks between the Scottish Six Days Trial (SSDT) and the Erzbergrodeo, meaning there was little time for Minta to get into the enduro mindset, and acquainted with his new, factory, EC 300 GasGas enduro machine. 

To help, GasGas put Minta in touch with their multi-time champion factory enduro rider, Tadeusz Blazusiak, who signed with GasGas for the 2021 season, after spending much of his earlier career as a factory KTM rider. 

Perhaps the most notorious part of the Erzbergrodeo is the Carl’s Dinner section: strewn with boulders, it creates some of the most technically challenging riding conditions in the whole of the Hard Enduro World Championship. 

When Minta reached Carl’s Dinner - his target going into the event - he was an impressive 23rd. 

“I didn’t quite know what to expect going into the race, but my personal goal was to reach Carl’s Dinner and that’s exactly what I did,” Minta said. “In the lead up I put so many hours in practicing, I felt really good on the bike and ready for the challenge.

“The Iron Giant is so big. Photos and videos don’t do the size of the place justice. It’s massive! Without a doubt my trial background definitely helped me in all the technical sections and without that there’s no way I’d have gotten as far as I did. 

“The whole experience was off the scale, the atmosphere was incredible, and I can’t wait for 2023 where my goal is to reach the finish line.” 

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