Billy Bolt put in a commanding showing at round three of the FIM SuperEnduro World Championship in Hungary to secure the overall victory.
Dominating the evening’s SuperPole by almost one and a half seconds, Bolt was keen to make good on that momentum when the start gate dropped for race one. Exiting the first corner in second position, a hectic lap one saw him slip back to third. Recomposing himself, he went on the attack and by the end of lap two had taken over the lead. Once out front, Bolt pulled clear to eventually claim victory by three seconds.
In the first race of the night, Bolt encountered a few difficulties on the technical route. Snatching the holeshot, 2022 Junior World Champion Dominik Olszowy was running a good pace out front. In his wake were Jonny Walker and Cody Webb. Sweden’s Eddie Karlsson made a solid start to the race with 4th position, standing up to much more experienced riders with his unique and skillful style.
Back at the front, after three laps there was no more that Webb and Walker could do to hold back the charge of Bolt. The Number 57 rider, shining as bright as his new helmet design, moved into the lead of the race leaving his opponents to squabble for the podium places. He made a few small errors which allowed Walker some hope, but not for long. On the fifth lap, Eddie Karlsson fell heavily on the finish line jump after impressively passing Cody Webb.
Race Direction showed swift action to protect all the riders, quickly ‘red flagging’ the race. The Swede was evacuated on a stretcher, but he thankfully seems to have avoided serious injury. With the vast majority of the race having been disputed, it was not restarted. Billy Bolt, therefore, won ahead of Jonny Walker and Cooper Abbott who had a remarkable end to the race.
In the second race, Billy Bolt’s difficulties emerged again as he tackled the reverse grid race and encountered several ‘tail-enders’. As he went on to battle for a podium spot with Cody Webb, he came unstuck on the obstacles a couple of times and lost time on Webb and Olszowy. Meanwhile, Jonny Walker had a slow start but the Beta rider quickly rose through the ranks to find himself back at the sharp end, running fourth behind Poland’s Olszowy who was passed by Bolt and Webb, before making his move for 3rd.
The race still offered its share of thrills when Walker and Bolt made a mistake, opening the door to Cody Webb for a possible victory. The Sherco rider thought he would grab his first win of the year, but Bolt wasn’t ready to relinquish control. Despite a final error in the matrix, it was another victory for Billy Bolt in front of Webb and Walker. Olszowy and Abbott completed the Top 5.
The final race was more of a formality for the championship leader as he relaxed into the last blast of the night and quickly took control of the race, despite another holeshot from Walker. Bolt then built his lead to stretch his gap to Walker by almost 20 seconds – celebrating this fact with a little whip at the chequered flag, and a heel-clicker on his cool-down lap.
Bolt won the overall in Budapest ahead of Jonny Walker and Cody Webb. The Husqvarna rider also strengthened his lead in the general classification; he now has a 26-point lead over Walker and 60 over Webb.
“These events aren’t getting any easier!” Bolt enthused, “But I’m really happy about my performance in the last race, I really wanted a mistake-free, drama-free race and I managed to get it. What can I say? Three wins and extended the points lead, so a good night! A lot of action, but a good night. I did struggle with the backmarkers a lot, but at the end of the day it’s my job to get around them well. All in all, no complaints at the end of the night. This sport is amazing, we have good racing every round, no matter the location or the track layout.”
Runnerup Jonny Walker was left to rue a few small mistakes,
“It was a good night, I felt like the first two races I made some stupid mistakes, but a lot of us did,” Walker said. “I felt like I had good pace in those first two though, whereas the last race I didn’t really have any flow and I didn’t enjoy it – unlike Billy, who said he really enjoyed it! I’m really happy with second overall tonight and keeping 2nd in the championship too. Billy’s on another level, he’s the one to beat, and I’m trying to change my riding to keep up with him and close the gap! The bike is feeling better all the time.”
Cody Webb finished 3rd in the final race ahead of Olszowy and a brilliant Diogo Veira who was 5th. Taddy Blazusiak had a tough and complicated Hungarian GP, suffering a big crash in Superpole, and some unfortunate falls in the races, the six-time World Champion finished in a distant 7th place overall.
“The season’s getting better!” Webb said. “In the second race I was leading Billy twice, and the pressure of trying to keep him behind me was kind of getting in my head, so I actually felt better once he passed me in some ways! The first race was probably my most enjoyable, the second one was tough – I also hope that Eddie (Karlsson) is OK after his big crash. My thumb is still a bit injured, and I need more bike time to try and beat these guys. We’ve made some bike improvements and that’s given me a boost too.”
Results: SuperEnduro, Round 3
Overall Classification
1 Billy Bolt (Husqvarna) 63 Points
2 Jonny Walker (Beta) 51 Points
3 Cody Webb (Sherco) 42 Points
Prestige Race 1
1 Billy Bolt (Husqvarna) 6 laps, 4:44.087
2 Jonny Walker (Beta) 6 laps, 4:45.815
3 Cooper Abbott (Sherco) 6 laps, 5:02.030
Prestige Race 2
1 Billy Bolt (Husqvarna) 9 laps, 7:35.071
2 Cody Webb (Sherco) 9 laps, 7:38.798
3 Jonny Walker (Beta) 9 laps, 7:43.281
Prestige Race 3
1 Billy Bolt (Husqvarna) 9 laps, 6:58.254
2 Jonny Walker (Beta) 9 laps, 7:18.193
3 Cody Webb (Sherco) 9 laps, 7:33.496
Championship Standings (After round 3)
1 Billy Bolt (Husqvarna) 184 Points
2 Jonny Walker (Beta) 158 Points
3 Cody Webb (Sherco) 124 Points
