Never before in the 12-year history of the Erzberg Rodeo have so many world stars lined up for the start. It was Simo Kirssi however, who made a lasting impression, as he was virtually unstoppable on the BMW HP2.
His fastest time up the 17.5 kilometre mountain track was almost five seconds faster than his nearest challenger and he was in fact the only rider to complete the Prologue in under nine minutes.
Local rider Werner Müller finished in second place, Dakar winner Cyril Despres was third and BMW Motorrad´s Chris Pfeiffer finished fourth on the BMW HP2 Enduro, while rally specialist Jimmy Lewis finished in sixth.
All in all, there were representatives from 23 nations for the Prologue races and the overseas superstars put on an impressive show. US Supercross legend Jeremy McGrath finished a sensational seventh and freestyle-MX superstar Travis Pastrana came a respectable 10th.
