Shooting Pro Hard Enduro: Red Bull Outliers - Prologue
2023 FIM HARD ENDURO World CHAMPIONSHIP | ROUND 4
Text & Images © Noel Flatters / Superfine Media - All Rights Reserved.
Welcome to the 2023 Red Bull Outliers Prologue at Olympic Plaza in downtown Calgary, Alberta.
© Noel Flatters / Superfine Media
Racing at the 2023 edition of Red Bull Outliers got started on Saturday, August 26th. For those who missed it in my previous Outliers blog post, the FIM explains Hard Enduro as become “one of the most challenging off-road motorcycle [disciplines] in existence.” In a nutshell, FIM Hard Enduro World Championships consist of an Enduro Cross style prologue and one or more stages of racing in extreme off-road environments. For Red Bull Outliers, the prologue would take place at Olympic Plaza in downtown Calgary, with the single Hard Enduro stage being run in the Badlands just north of Brooks in Steveville, Alberta (about 2.5 hours east of Calgary). I covered the pro riders’ track walk of the hard enduro track in my previous post, and will cover the hard enduro stage in my next one.
Red Bull Outliers is a big event. It’s the 4th round of the FIM Hard Enduro World Championship Series, and it attracts the top pros from around the world. It’s also a big event attendance-wise. The prologue is held at the Olympic Plaza in the heart of downtown Calgary, Alberta, and there was a MASSIVE turnout of spectators checking out the action. I don’t have an official attendance estimate (it was free for spectators), but on Sunday at the main race the MC’s were talking about 8 to 10 thousand people being crammed into the plaza. I don’t know how accurate that is, but I would guess that at minimum there were 5 to 6 thousand people there at the peak.
Outliers was easily the biggest race that I had been accredited for to this point in my career. Getting an official media accreditation for it was a pretty big deal for me. I’d already been accredited at multiple rounds of the Canadian Triple Crown pro motocross series, as well as other events like the week-long TransCan Grand National Pro/Am Championship. The Outliers one was a direct result of a few different factors, including having demonstrated my chops at other big events, starting to work with industry brands and publications, and (most importantly) building relationships within the motocross/enduro community. I’ll talk more about this in a separate post, but these things allowed me to work with Shane Cuthbertson (Race Director and promoter) of Rad 2.0 to get my credentials from Red Bull.
Graham Jarvis is a legend in the Hard Enduro world. He was pretty obviously feeling chilled out eating a breakfast sandwich during his track walk!
© Noel Flatters / Superfine Media
Here’s an important note about shooting this event with media credentials vs. being a Red Bull Content Pool photographer: although you do get a little more access to the track, you really don’t get much more than a member of the public would in terms of shooting positions. The main thing I got was a single dedicated media shooting area next to the track near the finish line and with a decent view of the start and the tough Tire Alley section. We also got access to a ‘friends & family’ area at the west end of the course, which had some good angles, but you definitely had to work harder to get the spot you wanted along the barriers. I was also able to access the paddock area, but I think a lot of the general public were able to get in there, too. General media were NOT able to access the course itself. That was reserved for Red Bull Media and Red Bull Content Pool shooters. While this was a little frustrating in that I couldn’t wok the angles and close-up stuff that is my main style in motocross, I do understand it from Red Bull’s perspective. These events are huge investments for them, and it’s important to remember that Red Bull is (from my perspective, at least) a media company that sells drinks. The content that they push out is integral to their business model and investment in the sport, and they want to maximise their own coverage without having to worry about fighting the general media for their spots and shots on the track. On top of that, the track is a tight and dangerous space. Organisers need to limit access for the safety of everyone out there, from riders to officials to media. It’s an intricate operation, and they need to manage risk. So yes, while frustrating, it’s what we had to work with and it just made for a different kind of challenge for me! Let’s go!
My shooting priorities for the prologue were (on the surface) reasonably simple:
Capture images and stories from the Pro race for Direct Motocross (one of Canada’s biggest motocross/off-road news sources).
Follow Lexi Pechout’s day as one of the very few women racing, and a Calgary-based pro.
Shoot for Michael Walkner (GasGas Factory Racing / Red Bull) - you can read a bit about how that came about in my previous Outliers post.
My day started at 6:00 a.m. so that I could give myself plenty of time to eat and get ready for a long hot day (temperatures were forecast to be in the low to mid 30 celsius range). I made it down to Olympic Plaza nice and early, managing to snag parking only a block or so away (winning!). The riders were going to be arriving at the Plaza shortly after 8:00 in a parade/convoy from the main paddock several blocks away. I wanted to make sure I could capture that, but also still needed to pick up my media credential at about the same time. (Sidebar - this, for me, was a small ‘do better’ opportunity for Red Bull. If they could’ve had media sign-in alongside rider sign-in the previous day, it would have simplified things immensely, and allowed us to be better prepared and set-up on race day. Not a huge deal, but it would’ve been a really nice touch.)
The riders arrived pretty much on schedule, with a minor delay from some of the Pro/Factory team’s vehicles still in the pits unloading gear. It was a cool scene when they all rode in, and most of them were clearly having a total hoot. Definitely a fun moment for everyone! I quickly got to work scurrying around the pits grabbing shots and a couple of quick hit stand-up interviews for Direct Motocross. Again, I want to emphasise how great the pros were to work with. Dealing with media is a big part of professionalism for these guys, and it showed. They were very accommodating, and if they were busy they were universally super polite in letting me know that they needed some space.
Jonny Walker (Beta Motorcycles / Red Bull) relaxing in the pits next to Billy Bolt’s bike between races at the 2023 Red Bull Outliers prologue at Olympic Plaza in downtown Calgary, Alberta. That’s Macleod Trail South he’s lying on… and those are Billy’s Crocs under the bike.
© Noel Flatters / Superfine Media
Next up, the riders had a little while to walk the course and get to grips with the enduro cross obstacles. They were obviously having a good time, but it was equally obvious that they were getting fully into race mode as they checked out potential lines.
After the track walk were the practice sessions. These sessions are critical to me as a photographer in motocross and enduro. I get to see what the race lines will be, what the keys points on the course will be for passing, and to see how each of the top riders are approaching different features so that I can be dialled-in when the pressure is on during the races. I can also start to figure angles on different parts of the course to capture peak action within the context of the event backdrop.
From here, it was go time for racing! The qualification and elimination rounds were amazing. On the pro side of things, there were some incredible battles throughout the day. Billy Bolt (Husqvarna Factory Racing / Red Bull) and Jonny Walker (Beta Motorcycles / Red Bull) went back-and-forth multiple times through these rounds. Billy and Jonny are both enduro cross masters, and were just lighting up the course all day. Manuel (Mani) Lettenbichler (FMF KTM Factory Racing / Red Bull) was throwing down, too, as the overall #1 in the series. Other riders that stood out for me in these rounds were Canada’s own Trystan Hart (FMF KTM Factory Racing / Red Bull) and Ryder LeBlond (Husqvarna Rock Star Energy Factory Racing. They were both going huge off of the features, and along with Billy, Jonny, and Manny, were among the very few pros that were consistently doubling the big features.
Billy Bolt (Husqvarna Factory Racing / Red Bull) (left) in one of his many battles with Jonny Walker (Beta Motorcycles / Red Bull) during the 2023 Red Bull Outliers prologue. They’re both Endurocross masters, and it was such a pleasure to watch them get after it!
© Noel Flatters / Superfine Media
Manuel (Mani) Lettenbichler (FMF KTM Factory Racing / Red Bull) sending it over a feature at the 2023 Red Bull Outliers prologue. Mani was ranked #1 in the world coming into Outliers and he showed us why by coming away with the prologue win and extending his series lead.
© Noel Flatters / Superfine Media
In terms of shooting Michael Walkner (one of my priorities), it was tough to keep an eye out for him out there with the insanity at the front-end of these rounds. He was pretty clear with me that these enduro cross prologues were not his speciality, and I could tell that out on the course. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not like he was struggling in any way, he was smooth and fast as hell, but he was just a couple of percentage points behind the top 4 or 5 guys out there. For him, his goals were to get through the day safely with the best result possible, but without taking any major risks that would endanger his ride in the big race the next day. It was fun checking in on him throughout the day in the pits. He was so chilled out, and I was starting to learn how mentally strong he is through his ability to remain calm and stay confident in his race strategy.
Lexi Pechout did an amazing ride out there in the prologue. I had been shooting a sprint enduro race about 4 weeks prior to this down in Raymond, Alberta, that Lexi was at. She was killing it out there, running in the top 3 overall of the race (not just women) when she landed a jump awkwardly and ended up hurting her knee. She’s super tough, and when I went over to check on her in the pits she was making out like it wasn’t a big deal, but I could tell she was hurting pretty bad, For sure she was worrying about the impact of this on Outliers, and her planned trip to race in Japan and the Corduroy enduro in Ontario on back-to-back-weekends in September.
Lexi Pechout (BFD Moto / Husqvarna Canada) works the log step-ups at the mid-point of the 2023 Red Bull Outliers prologue course.
© Noel Flatters / Superfine Media
As it turned out her knee injury was, let’s just say, ‘significant.’ She was still out there, though, and did a great job on such a tough track. Every time I saw her come off the bike, especially in Tire Alley (a minefield for most riders), I threw up a bit in my mouth knowing what kind of pain she was dealing with. Lexi was 100% one of the most, if not the most courageous riders of the day. It was tough for me to make the professional call to not focus on that story as she obviously wanted to keep it low key. I’m going to cover that soon in an interview with Lexi, though, so stay tuned for that.
In the Pro semi-finals and final it was crazy to see how the huge crowd went NUTS every time Trystan Hart made a move. Even if I was on the other side of the course it was easy to tell where he was by the way the crowd roared as he went by. It was just a rolling wave of sound. In a way, it took me back to 1988 and being the in Plaza for the Olympic medal ceremonies when Canadians were on the podium. The place would go nuts and the party atmosphere was incredible. This was so similar in terms of excitement levels, noise, and overall atmosphere. So, soooooo cool!
Canadian Tyrstan Hart (FMF KTM Factory Racing / Red Bull) charging in the final of the 2023 Red Bull Outliers Prologue in Calgary’s Olympic Plaza. Trystan would wind up on the podium in third place at the end of the race.
© Noel Flatters / Superfine Media
The Pro final was, in most peoples’ minds I think, going to be the Billy Bolt show. Billy is an exceptional enduro cross talent, and he always shows up for the prologues. Although he’d been recovering from an arm/shoulder injury, and was nursing an ankle on the track walk, I could tell that he was pretty switched on for this race. He was trailing Mani in the standings for first overall, and he was in a battle with Trystan for the #2/#3 positions coming into Outliers. The big question was could he hold off Trystan, another great enduro cross rider, on Trystan’s home turf and in front of the home crowd.
England’s Billy Bolt (Husqvarna Factory Racing / Red Bull) moments after crashing in the exit of Tire Alley while battling with Manuel Lettenbichler at the front of the 2023 Red Bull Outliers Prologue final.
© Noel Flatters / Superfine Media
Off the start Billy took a big hole shot, and opened up a little gap over Mani and Trystan. I was thinking “Ok, Billy’s got this locked in” and just focused in on getting the shots of the top 3 and any battles that developed on course. Mani rode like a mad-man, though, to close the gap and put pressure on Billy, and got rewarded when Billy had an off exiting Tire Alley a few laps later. This also brought Trystan back into the fight for crucial points in his overall standings battle with Billy, and the crowd just kept louder, pushing Trystan on. Mani held on for the prologue win, and Billy edged out Trystan for 2nd place on the podium. Trystan is a very intense guy on race days. I could see that he was pissed to not win and that he lost points to Billy in the overall.
Canadian Trystan Hart (FMF KTM Factory Racing / Red Bull) is one intense guy, especially on race days. He’s known as ‘The Robot’ in the Hard Enduro world…
© Noel Flatters / Superfine Media
Mani Lettenbichler firing up a celebratory burnout for the big crowds moments after taking the win at the 2023 Red Bull Outliers prologue at Olympic Plaza in downtown Calgary, Alberta. All the people in blue vests are the Red Bull Media Content Pool members, who had access to the track.
© Noel Flatters / Superfine Media
For shooting, I did my best to work with I had with my general media credential. I was definitely bummed that I couldn’t up close to work with my Fujinon 10-24mm F/4 OIS LM WR lens. It’s a go-to of mine based on my style of working right up on the edges of tracks. I love how, especially at 10mm, this wide-angle beauty can elongate the bikes in corners and in the air. It adds a real sense of energy to shots by highlighting the action of the bike’s suspension the movements of the rider. My Fuji X-H2 bodies continued to impress me as sports photography workhorses. I got the X-H2 bodies last year before I had fully committed to switching from portrait/fashion work to motocross, enduro, and off-road sports photography. Obviously I would’ve got the X-H2S bodies, in hindsight, but it’s not a deal-breaker in any way, shape, or form. Being able to shoot 15 FPS for long bursts with zero buffer lag is amazing. And having the big resolution of the X-H2 sensor works great for me, too. Because I was shooting all day at high shot volumes, but still wanting max image resolution/quality, I went with shooting large-size RAW files. I did, though, dial them back a bit by shooting Lossless Compressed. This still gave me tons of resolution with no visible decrease in image quality, especially in the context of screen-based viewing. For commercial work in controlled (non-race) environments, or in a race scenario with very specific deliverables, I would absolutely shoot using RAW Large with JPG Fine on my second card to ensure maximum quality, though. I mainly worked this race with my XF 50-140mm F/2.8 and 16-55mm F/2.8 on my two bodies. In hindsight, I wish I had made more use of the XF 150-600mm that I had rented, but I’ll fully admit that I was having trouble integrating into my workflow when I’m so used to shooting from extreme close range. My fault there, and I did make sure to use it lots the next day at the main race! It’s an amazing lens, no question.
cheers | noel.
