Opening Note

Austria today, two Spaniards level on points, one of them with five wins and the other with one. Lettenbichler has matched Jarvis at Romaniacs. BDR has released a new 520-mile loop in Idaho. onX has added emergency rescue to an app people already carry into the backcountry. This is a fuller issue than most, and Mads is grateful that the sport and the road have been cooperative.

MotoGP · Austrian Grand Prix · Red Bull Ring · Round 15 of 22 · Race Day

This issue goes out before the race, which begins at 13:00 local time and will be finished by the time most of you read this. What can be said with confidence is that the championship arrives in Austria in precisely the condition one would construct for maximum drama: Márquez and Martín level on 274 points, separated in the standings only by the number of Grand Prix victories each has accumulated — five for Márquez, one for Martín. Bezzecchi is 33 points behind in third, which is close enough that a win here combined with the right misfortune ahead of him would make things very interesting indeed.

Martín took pole on Saturday by 0.015 seconds — a margin that tells us Aprilia's RS-GP26 is comfortable at the Red Bull Ring, and that Martín arrived with something to prove after his arm-pump fifth at Misano. Acosta is third on the grid, Bezzecchi fourth. KTM's home circuit has historically produced at least one moment of significance for the orange machines; Acosta qualifying third suggests the tradition may continue. Bagnaia is seventh, which is better than recent form suggested was possible, and which Ducati will note with something between relief and concern.

Grid — Top Five

One statistical footnote that deserves mention: Márquez's recovery from 102 points behind after Mugello to championship leader is, per official MotoGP records, the largest deficit overturned to take the lead in the championship's history. Whether this is the narrative the season ultimately concludes with remains entirely unclear. There are 175 points still available. Austria marks the end of the European leg. The championship now travels east. Follow the full standings.

RawHyde Wild Card Rally · October 16–18 · Mojave Desert — three weeks out

Three weeks to the RawHyde Wild Card Rally at ZAKAR — and for anyone still deliberating, the window for early-bird pricing at $395 is the relevant detail. Standard registration is $450. The event runs October 16–18 at RawHyde's hundred-acre Mojave Desert facility in Mojave, California, with GPS-guided routes through Jawbone Canyon OHV, half-day riding clinics led by experienced instructors, chef-prepared meals, and a Saturday night casino that requires a specific temperament to describe without sounding like a travel brochure. Camping and dry RV spots are available on-site. The Mojave in mid-October is, for what it is worth, genuinely good riding weather.

Also worth noting: Barber Vintage Festival is October 9–11 in Leeds, Alabama — the 21st edition and the first since the death of founder George W. Barber. Between Barber and ZAKAR, October presents the unusual problem of having two compelling reasons to ride to different parts of the country within a single fortnight. One does what one can.

Romaniacs 2026 — Lettenbichler matches Jarvis, CFMoto sweeps the Adventure classes

The 23rd Red Bull Romaniacs — themed "Unstoppable," which proved to be an accurate description of at least one competitor — took place July 28 through August 1 in Sibiu, Romania. Manuel Lettenbichler won the Gold class overall by just over an hour, claiming his seventh career victory and equalling Graham Jarvis's all-time record at the event. The German, riding his factory KTM 300 EXC, controlled the race from the opening Off-Road stage, with four consecutive wins suggesting that "controlled" may be understood rather generously. Teodor Kabakchiev finished second; South Africa's James Moore was third. Jarvis contested the race on an electric bike and finished in the outright top twenty, which is either an advertisement for electric off-road machines or an advertisement for Graham Jarvis, depending on where one's loyalties lie.

The Adventure class produced the more unexpected narrative. Mario Román Serrano and CFMOTO swept all three Adventure categories. Román won Adventure Ultimate on a CFMOTO 450MT, finishing 14 minutes and 40 seconds ahead of Pol Tarrés. CFMOTO also filled the entire Adventure Lite podium. Sam Sunderland, riding Triumph's Tiger 900 in Adventure Core, finished second despite completing the final Off-Road day with a broken clutch lever — which is either commendable determination or evidence that two-time Dakar winners approach mechanical failures with an equanimity unavailable to the rest of us.

Hells Canyon BDR-X released · IDBDR and COBDR closures · onX SOS launches

BDR's most significant 2026 release landed in August: the Hells Canyon BDR-X, a 520-mile adventure motorcycle loop circumnavigating Hells Canyon — the deepest river gorge in North America — across Idaho and Oregon. GPX tracks are available now at ridebdr.com. This is a purpose-built BDR-X route oriented toward skilled riders on capable machines. If you've been looking for a reason to spend time in Idaho's backcountry beyond the standard IDBDR, this is a compelling one.

Active closures: the IDBDR has a wildfire bypass on Section 2 (labeled IDBDR-August2026-V2); the COBDR's Section 2 ALT via Ophir Pass is closed weekdays through September 11; and the WABDR has closures on Sections 4, 5, and 6 due to active wildfire. Always download the latest GPS tracks before departure.

onX launched onX SOS in July — an in-app emergency assistance service available as a $49.99/year add-on. It connects to a 24/7 Crisis Response Center, coordinates rescue, and covers evacuation costs with no monetary cap. The caveat: onX SOS runs on your phone. It is not a Garmin inReach and does not replace a dedicated satellite communicator for serious backcountry use. For riders primarily route-following in areas with intermittent cell coverage — most BDR riding — it is worth considering.

Stark VARG SM Sköll · WABDR Fifth Edition map · Suzuki SV-7GX confirmed

Stark Future has revealed the VARG SM Sköll — a numbered limited edition of 500 units based on the electric VARG SM, priced at £12,990. The blacked-out specification: dark anodising throughout, minimal graphics, the general aesthetic of something that would prefer not to be looked at directly. First deliveries are due before year end. Mads is, in principle, resistant to limited edition motorcycles as a category. The Sköll is an exception: it is genuinely striking, and 500 units is few enough that the designation carries some weight. Whether £1,000 of weight is a matter for the individual.

Suzuki has confirmed the SV-7GX for 2027, sharing an updated engine with the SV650 — a middleweight adventure bike for riders who are not entirely certain they want a middleweight adventure bike, which is not as small a market as it sounds. More detail as the full specification arrives.

BDR has released the WABDR Fifth Edition 2026 map, marking the route's 15th anniversary. Tracks are labelled WABDR-June2026 — Sections 2 and 3 have changed substantially from the previous version. Download them before you go.