Enduro

Taddy Blazusiak Takes SuperEnduro World Championship Opening Round Win

Posted:

Sunday, December 9th, 2018

11:38 AM

Taddy Blazusiak got his 2019 FIM SuperEnduro World Championship off to a wining start at his home race in Poland. Photo: Future7Media.

Taddy Blazusiak has beat Cody Webb to win the opening round of the 2019 FIM SuperEnduro World Championship held in Krakow, Poland.

On a dry and fast track at the Tauron Arena in Krakow, Taddy Blazusiak delighted his home fans by taking the overall win at round one of the championship. It wasn‰Ûªt plain sailing for the six-time champion however as an early fall in the third and final heat left him playing catch-up to the riders ahead.

Blazusiak secured the holeshot in heat one. The Polish rider was never challenged for the remainder of the race and after riding eight smooth and consistent laps crossed the line 15 seconds ahead of American Cody Webb. Putting in a similar performance in the reverse-grid heat two, Blazusiak fought his way through the pack early on to win by over five seconds from the second-placed finisher Colton Haaker.

Taddy Blazusiak deals with the log obstacle in Krakow, Poland. Photo: Future7Media.

Aiming to take the hat-trick, Blazusiak fell early in the third heat and was placed dead-last at the beginning of the opening lap. Charging hard, he got his head down and proceeded to pick off the riders ahead of him, ultimately battling his way through to fourth at the line ‰ÛÒ enough to claim the overall event win and with it the championship lead heading into round two in Germany. Alfredo Gomez took the victory in the final race.

The whole event has been amazing, Race one went perfectly, I was able to get out in front and set my own pace to take the win. Race two was pretty much the same, I had quite a lot of pressure from the guys behind and made a couple of mistakes, but I was able to put in some fast lap times and break the challenge.
Taddy Blazusiak

"In the last moto, I got a pretty good start but I got tangled up with some other riders over the first jumps and went down. I picked myself and the bike up and saw I was in last place so I took a couple of seconds to make sure everything was ok and set off again. I was pushing hard and able to overtake the guys in front quite well," Blazusiak continued.

"I did make a mistake in one rut and washed the front again, luckily I didn‰Ûªt lose too much time and was happy enough to take fourth. Championship-wise, I‰Ûªm a little disappointed to lose a few points but I think we‰Ûªll all have challenging races over the season. To be leading going into round two feels great.‰Û

American Cody Webb finished two points behind Taddy Blazusiak for second place. Photo: Future7Media.

With two runner-up finishes and a third-place result, Cody Webb enjoyed a strong start to the defence of his 2018 SuperEnduro title. After claiming the SuperPole award, the American rider fought hard throughout the three races with EnduroCross rival Colton Haaker. Despite a couple of mistakes, Webb was able to ride consistently over the three heats to take second overall, just two points behind Blazusiak.

‰ÛÏI had great fun tonight, it‰Ûªs always good to race here in Poland," Webb said. "I‰Ûªm happy with my result, SuperPole and then second overall for the night is good ‰ÛÒ I just made a few too many mistakes out there. It‰Ûªs nice to race the first round with no jet-lag but I haven‰Ûªt been able to get on the bike so much in the last couple of weeks so I was maybe a little timid out there. I know my speed is good and my fitness is nearly there now after my injury earlier in the year. I‰Ûªm excited for the rest of the season so we‰Ûªll see what round two brings in Germany.‰Û

Colton Haaker rounded out the podium with a pair of second places and a third. Photo: Future7Media.

Colton Haaker rounded out the podium with a pair of second places and a third.

I‰Ûªm pleased with what‰Ûªs been a good night‰Ûªs work. Ideally, I would have liked to win but I‰Ûªm in a much better position than where I started the SuperEnduro series 12 months ago.
Colton Haaker

"After what was a tough year of injuries, it was good to come in here with the EnduroCross championship and know that my speed was good. However, these SuperEnduro races are much shorter and more intense and so take a little bit of adjusting to. We worked hard this past month to be ready and if not for a crash in that final race, when pushing for the win, then the overall victory was on the table. I‰Ûªm happy to come out of round one strong, with a podium result, and look to build on things at round two," Haaker concluded.

Alfredo Gomez claimed an emphatic win in the final race and in doing so put to rest a difficult nine months of recovery following his serious knee injury. Fourth overall was a good result. Photo: Future7Media.

Alfredo Gomez claimed an emphatic win in the final race and in doing so put to rest a difficult nine months of recovery following his serious knee injury. Fourth overall was a good result.

I am absolutely delighted with how round one has gone and how tonight has ended. I‰Ûªve been waiting nine months for this victory and to get it feels amazing - it feels like I‰Ûªve finally put my knee injury behind me.
Alfredo Gomez

The 2019 FIM SuperEnduro World Championship continues with round two in Riesa, Germany on January 5, 2019.

Results ‰ÛÓ 2019 FIM SuperEnduro World Championship, Round 1

Prestige Class ‰ÛÓ Overall
1. Taddy Blazusiak (POL), KTM, 54 points
2. Cody Webb (USA), KTM, 52 pts
3. Colton Haaker (USA), Husqvarna, 49 pts
4. Alfredo Gomez (ESP), Husqvarna, 46 pts
5. Kevin Gallas (DEU), Husqvarna, 28 pts

Prestige Race 1
1. Taddy Blazusiak (POL), KTM, 7:09.693
2. Cody Webb (USA), KTM, 7:24.642 +14.949
3. Colton Haaker (USA), Husqvarna, 7:39.847 +30.154
4. Alfredo Gomez (ESP), Husqvarna, 7:51.710 +42.017
5. Diogo Vieira (PRT), Yamaha, 8:10.120 +1:00.427

Prestige Race 2
1. Taddy Blazusiak (POL), KTM, 7:14.805
2. Colton Haaker (USA), Husqvarna, 7:19.913 +5.108
3. Cody Webb (USA), KTM, 7:27.944 +13.139
4. Alfredo Gomez (ESP), Husqvarna, 7:33.739 +18.934
5. Kevin Gallas (DEU), Husqvarna, 7:47.579 +32.774

Prestige Race 3
1. Alfredo Gomez (ESP), Husqvarna, 7:14.773
2. Cody Webb (USA), KTM, 7:18.551 +3.778
3. Colton Haaker (USA), Husqvarna, 7:19.680 +4.907
4. Taddy Blazusiak (POL), KTM, 7:29.168 +14.395
5. Kevin Gallas (DEU), Husqvarna, 7:51.985 +37.212