The World Enduro Super Series (WESS) is no more. Run by WESS Promotion out of Wels, Austria, the WESS series successfully combined hard enduro, classic enduro, and cross-country racing into a single championship. WESS has joined forces with the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM)—the sanctioning body for MotoGP, MXGP, and Supercross—and we now have the FIM Hard Enduro World Championship.
“This is a very exciting time for us and our sport,” WESS Promotion’s Winfried Kerschhaggi said. “Following an incredibly busy time, building and shaping WESS, work is paying off. We’re ready to take the next step as the FIM Hard Enduro World Championship. Together with the FIM, we move into 2021 with confidence and enthusiasm and look forward to ongoing exciting racing.”
The 2021 Hard Enduro World Championship Series will consist of eight rounds, running from May to October, with a round in Tennessee at the Trial Training Center in Sequatchie. The other seven rounds will be in Europe. The premier class will be the Pro-Class, and it will meet the same FIM standards applied to other motorcycling world championships. There will continue to be amateur classes at the Hard Enduro World Championship rounds.
“Every once in a while, an opportunity comes to do something very interesting and new in motorcycle sport,” FIM CEO Tony Skillington observed. “I am completely convinced that this championship will become a very important part of the FIM calendar in the future, and I am more than pleased that we are finally signing a four-year contract for the promotion of an FIM Hard Enduro World Championship. I also appreciate the energy and dedication that both FIM and WESS have deployed together to work on all of the ways to make this Championship a success.”
Former WESS champions include Manuel Lettenbichler (2019) and Billy Bolt (2018).
Certainly, the 2021 KTM 350 EXC-F WESS special edition becomes an instant collector’s item.
Photography by Future7Media and E. Tschann
2021 Hard Enduro World Championship Series Schedule
Round 1: May 7-9, Extreme XL Lagares, Portugal
Round 2: June 3-6, Red Bull Erzbergrodeo, Austria
Round 3: June 10-11, TBD, Italy
Round 4: July 27-31, Red Bull Romaniacs, Romania
Round 5: August 14-15, Red Bull TKO, Tennessee
Round 6: Sep. 18-19, TBD, Poland
Round 7: Oct. 1-3, Hixpania Hard Enduro, Spain
Round 8: Oct. 30-31, GetzenRodeo, Germany
