In this episode we had the opportunity to chat to Mike Skinner who is a legend in the hard enduro paddock and has been involved in the sport for 12 years. He's seen the sport change and evolve over the years and has truly been on the inside of what can sometimes be seen as a sport with many decisions made behind closed doors.

We got to speak to Mike about the 2026 season and if he believes that the sport is on the right track. He shares his hopes for the this new chapter and his belief that everyone needs to work together to grow the sport.

In 2025 Mike took on more of a media role filling a really important hole is hard enduro coverage. He is often able to get to places many aren't and captures some of the best raw footage and rider interviews out there.

Beyond media, Mike is also a world class track setter and is able to share some common mistakes and suggestions for anyone whether it be track setters or race organizers.

We end our discussion with some bench racing, talking about when the juniors will eventually take the top spot, why there isn't a des nations for hard enduro and lastly, his suggestions to young riders looking to make a career out of dirt bikes.

We hope you enjoy this episode.

Chapters:
00:00 Intro
01:52 HEWC
08:21 Media Coverage
16:15 Hard enduro track setting
29:51 Hard enduro ranking system
33:53 Bench racing
48:19 Suggestions for young riders

Which country do you think would win if there was a Hard Enduro Des Nations?? Drop it in the comments... and also let us know which 3 riders you would pick from that country↓↓↓

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Something has been on our mind recently, will we see Stark Varg enter the Hard Enduro World Championship and line up at the start of Alestrem round 1? The manufacturer has just completed a groundbreaking season in the FIM Super Enduro World Championship by taking the manufacturers championship after only their second year. We've also got wind that they will be entering the EnduroGP in 2026 which is a pretty big move.

In an interview with Enduro21, Stark Racing Director, Sebastien Tortelli hinted at participating in 4 out of the 5 world championships and that hard enduro might be on that list. This year is the first year that Stark would actually be allowed to enter the Hard Enduro Championship due to changes in regulations.

To come to a conclusion we had to touch on a couple topics that would determine if this is a realistic journey in 2026. There are things like regulations, bike limitations as well as riders that will all determine their decision. Stark is a brand that only enters something if they believe they have a competitive chance and will be able to perform well so also need to chat about what success would look like for them.

It's possible we'll see more information from the brand in the coming weeks but one thing is for sure, we'd love to see them in the Hard Enduro World Championship even if its just a testing year.

Chapters:
00:00 Intro
01:01 Will we see Stark in the Championship?
01:42 Super Enduro
04:20 EnduroGP
07:07 Hard Enduro Regulations
10:16 Bike Limitations
13:20 Red Bull Romaniacs Case Study
14:43 Event Organizer Requirements
16:40 Stark Riders
20:57 What does success look like?
23:27 Putting it into perspective

Think Stark should make the move? Drop it in the comments... we want to know where you stand↓↓↓

Support the show

Whether you're driving to work, heading back from a weekend ride or working on the bike in the garage make sure to tune in and if you're feeling generous you're welcome to buy us a coffee to support our efforts with the following link - https://buymeacoffee.com/worldhardenduro

You can also connect with us on socials such as Insta and Youtube

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These episodes don't run on premix alone, your support keeps us moving. Grab us a coffee → https://buymeacoffee.com/worldhardenduro

We welcome Mario Roman back onto the podcast to chat about the next chapter of his career. As many fans will know, Mario has parted ways with Sherco Factory Racing and created his own independent team MR74. This is a very interesting episode as we get to truly understand the differences between being on a factory team and the opportunities of being able to choose your own partners and sponsors.

Taking about partners, Mario has teamed up with Plews Tyres for the foreseeable future. A big move from someone who rode on Michlin tyres for 8 years. Of course we had to dive deeper into understanding his opinion on the differences between the two and for his response to not only be about the tyres but the brands themselves was surprising!

We're all hard enduro fans here so of course we're taking about the 2026 Hard Enduro World Championship as well as Mario's role in the riders association. We couldn't forget the hard Enduro World Ranking either. We touched his collaboration with CF Moto as the brand ambassador and his plans for Red Bull Romaniacs on an ADV.

A key takeaway from our chat and suggestion for junior riders was Mario's emphasis on how riders should be seeing racing and riding as a business, and taking the time to invest in themselves and their online presence. This is something that Mario has done incredibly well and should definitely be something younger riders are focusing on.

Chapters:
00:00 Intro
01:56 New bike, new team
06:03 Business
08:59 Plews tyres
12:14 CF Moto cooperation
14:13 RBR 2026 on an ADV
16:05 Priorities
17:54 2026 HEWC
19:15 Fave part of the new bike
20:55 WERA
23:00 Sorry Bro junior team
25:34 James Moore winning ROA
26:48 Advice for junior riders
28:32 HEWR

We’d love to hear your thoughts, do you think going independent the future for top riders? Let us know in the comments ↓↓↓

Support the show

Whether you're driving to work, heading back from a weekend ride or working on the bike in the garage make sure to tune in and if you're feeling generous you're welcome to buy us a coffee to support our efforts with the following link - https://buymeacoffee.com/worldhardenduro

You can also connect with us on socials such as Insta and Youtube

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