Billy
Bolt
United Kingdom
·
Enduro
Date of birth | August 17, 1997 |
|---|---|
Birthplace | Wallsend |
Age | 28 |
Nationality | United Kingdom |
Career start | 2015 |
Disciplines | Hard Enduro |
Billy Bolt is one of the most talented riders to hit the Hard Enduro scene in recent years. The British rider was besotted with motorbikes from a very early age, and his fledgling career began when he was a teenager, competing in local club trials events around the northeast of England.
Before long, Billy had risen through the youth ranks, winning everything from the Mintex Time And Observation Trial to the YMSA C Class championship.
He turned pro in 2015, riding a 300cc bike in the World Cup class at the World and British championships, but he had to ride a 125cc machine at the historic Scottish Six Days Trial due to his age. He didn't let that hold him back, however, and he won both the award for best rider on a machine up to 200cc and the best first-time rider award for his 23rd-place finish.
A successful switch to hard enduro
Bolt decided to try his hand at hard enduro the following year and turned heads with a few impressive performances as a privateer, most notably an amazing fifth place at the toughest race of them all, the Red Bull Erzbergrodeo Hare Scramble, as a complete rookie.
This and other strong finishes in high-profile races secured Billy a factory ride with Husqvarna for 2017, kick-starting an incredibly rapid rise to the top of the sport.
2017 saw Billy place among the top eight riders at prestigious events, including the Red Bull Hare Scramble, Red Bull Romaniacs and Red Bull 111 Megawatt, as he found his feet in the discipline.
Crowned a world champion
However, his career went into overdrive in 2018 when he rode into the World Enduro Super Series record books by becoming the debut Ultimate Enduro Champion.
That historic championship came via a headline-grabbing victory at the classic hard enduro Extreme XL Lagares in Portugal, as well as third place at the more high-speed Red Bull 111 Megawatt and Hawkstone Park Cross-Country rounds.
A complicated leg break disrupted Billy's 2019 campaign to defend his WESS title, but he was back to top form by the end of the year to claim the stadium-based 2019-20 FIM SuperEnduro World Championship title for the first time.
Dominating the FIM Hard Enduro World Championship
By the time racing got back to a full calendar in 2021, the WESS series had become the all-new FIM Hard Enduro World Championship and Billy was back to his very best. He muscled his way to wins at the Abestone and Red Bull TKO rounds on his way to becoming the first FIM Hard Enduro champion, which he then followed up with a clean sweep of SuperEnduro wins to claim his second indoor title.
Now, he's a four-time FIM Superenduro world champion and is determined to topple his great rival and friend Mani Lettenbichler to add another outdoor title to go with his indoor dominance.