What an incredible opening round of the 2018/2019 season! The Tauron Arena was sold out to host the first round of the Maxxis FIM SuperEnduro World Championship. And the Polish fans kept up their reputation for being the most passionate and enthusiastic on the calendar!
SuperPole: The Top Three Favourites Fight
At the beginning of the evening the thrilling SuperPole battle offered the 13,500 fans a taste of the furious action that would follow. Cody WEBB (USA-KTM) set the best time in the Prestige category, with his countryman Colton HAAKER (USA-HVA) at his heels. Demoting the local hero Taddy BLAZUSIAK(POL-KTM) to 3rd place. These three men seemed to place themselves as firm favourites for the night, even if the fans were a little worried to see Taddy ‘only’ 3rd.
Prestige: Taddy BLAZUSIAK Off Like a Rocket!
Very quick in the first heat, Taddy BLAZUSIAK seemed to dominate. The Factory KTM rider’s performance bolstered by the incredible support from the Polish public, and at the halfway point he had already built a considerable lead over Cody WEBB and Colton HAAKER. The two Americans tried hard to keep up with the fast pace of the local rider but they had to settle for podium positions, particularly after a crash for HAAKER on the penultimate lap. BLAZUSIAK therefore won this first heat by more 11 seconds over WEBB.
The second heat, with the reverse grid start, put the pressure on the top stars to perform. But despite starting from the second row behind the gate, Taddy continued his push for home glory. In fact, the multi-champion was hot on the heels of the leaders after less than 2 laps. The Pole signed off his second victory of the evening, thrilling the Tauron Arena in the process. Rookie Kevin GALLAS (GER-HVA) lead the race early on but was closed down and passed by the American duo. But with Husqvarna’s HAAKER stalling his bike and WEBB falling just minutes before the end, they were forced to settle for 2nd and 3rd respectively.
Taddy BLAZUSIAK aimed to pull off a hat-trick and win three out of three in Krakow. But a shocking crash for the KTM rider at the start of the 3rd heat saw him dead last on the opening lap. With worried fans urging him on, the Pole made an astonishing comeback through the pack, all the way to 4th place. This last heat was won by Alfredo GOMEZ (ESP-HVA), the consistent Spaniard pleased to return to the top following injury last year. However, WEBB and HAAKER both challenged for race victory, each crashing at separate points on the track and leaving GOMEZ to romp home. BLAZUSIAK leaves Krakow after a near perfect night which saw him take the overall win and the 24MX Leader Plate by just two points over Cody WEBB. Colton HAAKER is 3rd after his strong start to the season. BLAZUSIAK will definitely be kept on his toes by his two main rivals at the German GP.
Junior: William HOARE Does the Triple!
British rider, William HOARE (GBR-HVA), put on a masterclass in Poland, taking three dominant victories during the three Junior category heats. In the first race he chased David CYPRIAN (CZE-HVA) right down to the last corners of the race, overhauling him at the chequered flag, Norbert Levente JOZSA (ROM-HVA) closed out the top three. In the second heat with the reverse grid start HOARE won in front of David CYPRIAN and Tim APOLLE (DEU-KTM). And leaving nothing to chance in the last heat, HOARE took victory by a decent margin in front of local rider Dominik OLSZOWY (POL-KTM) and David CYPRIAN. The young Brit therefore leads the 24MX rankings ahead of CYPRIAN and JOZSA.
FIM-EUROPEAN Class: A Great Start!
The European class added extra spice to the Tauron Arena on Saturday night. After two very exciting heats it was Robert SCHARL (DEU-HVA) who took the number one spot in front of Paul BURY (FRA-BETA) and Thomas HOSTINSKY (SVK-HVA).
Join us in Riesa, Germany on January 5th to find out what twists and turns round two of the SuperEnduro World Championship has in store!
QUOTES OF THE DAY:
Taddy BLAZUSIAK: “ I didn't cruise the first two motos but I was on my own and could choose my lines and hit my markers. When you're in front it's easier because you can be smooth. In the final Moto I made a good start but got together with cody. It's a risk off the start but that's racing. There's 14 bikes but only room for three bikes. I got back up and I knew I was dead last but I started to charge and go hard thru the traffic. I had a small crash again.... I'm so happy to leave Poland with the red plate with the fourth place at the end. win I was thinking about getting everything point possible.... In this championship every point counts over 15 motos and that's all I was thinking about. The crowd was great but this track was good and very racy but in Poland the biggest issue is the dirt and getting it dry in Poland at this time of year.”
Cody WEBB: “ I made a couple of mistakes in the first two races and Taddy checked out in. He rode great. In the third race we came together... I'm looking forward to Germany though and ironing out my mistakes. I'm happy with how I rode tonight. It's a different intensity in Superenduro compared to EnduroCross and I was trying to learn the field and racing against those guys again. I'm two points behind Taddy but theres so many points to be won and lost in superenduro."
Colton HAAKER: “ last year when I left Poland I wasn't sure if I should even come back. I plugged thru the year but I was banging my head against a wall... After the second final I was surprised that I wasn't as far off as I expected and it's better than last year. Cody and taddy are both champions and it's going to be a great year.”
Prestige Class:
Heat 1 : 1. Taddy BLAZUSIAK ; 2. Cody WEBB ; 3. Colton HAAKER ; 4. Alfredo GOMEZ ; 5. Diogo VIEIRA ; 6. Blake GUTZEIT ; 7. Pol TARRES ; 8. David LEONOV ; 9. Kevin GALLAS ; 10. Emil JUSZCZAK…
Heat 2 : 1. Taddy BLAZUSIAK ; 2. Colton HAAKER ; 3. Cody WEBB ; 4. Alfredo GOMEZ ; 5. Kevin GALLAS ; 6. Blake GUTZEIT ; 7. Diogo VIEIRA ; 8. David LEONOV ; 9. Pol TARRES ; 10. Xavi LEON SOLE…
Heat 3 : 1. Alfredo GOMEZ ; 2. Cody WEBB ; 3. Colton HAAKER ; 4. Taddy BLAZUSIAK ; 5. Kevin GALLAS ; 6. Pol TARRES ; 7. Diogo VIEIRA ; 8. Blake GUTZEIT ; 9. Jose Maria JUAN BERNABEU ; 10. Xavi LEON SOLE…
Provisional classification : 1. Taddy BLAZUSIAK 54 pts ; 2. Cody WEBB 52 pts ; 3. Colton HAAKER 49pts ; 4. Alfredo GOMEZ 46 pts ; 5. Kevin GALLAS 28pts. 6. Diogo VIEIRA 27pts ; 7. Blake GUTZEIT 25pts ; 8. Pol TARRES 23pts ; 9. David LEONOV 18pts ; 10. Xavi LEON SOLE 14pts…
Junior Class :
Heat 1 : 1. William HOARE ; 2. David CYPRIAN ; 3. Norbert Levent JOZSA ; 4. KABAKCHIEV Teodor ; 5. Ivan PUEYO GIL. 6. Diego HERRERA. 7. Leon HENTSCHEL ; 8. Dan MUNDELL ; 9. Tim APOLLE ; 10. Lee SEALEY…
Heat 2 : 1. William HOARE ; 2. David CYPRIAN ; 3. Tim APOLLE ; 4. Dan MUNDELL ; 5. Dominik OLSZOWY ; 6. Diego HERRERA ; 7. Ivan PUEYO GIL ; 8. Norbert Levente JOZSA ; 9. Sebastian ENÖCKL ; 10. Fabien POIROT…
Heat 3 : 1. William HOARE ; 2. Dominik OLSZOWY ; 3. David CYPRIAN ; 4. Norbert Levente JOZSA ; 5. Ivan PUEYO GIL ; 6. Lee SEALEY ; 7. Dan MUNDELL ; 8. Tim APOLLE ; 9. Leon HENTSCHEL ; 10. Fabien POIROT…
Provisional classification : 1. William HOARE 60 pts ; 2. David CYPRIAN 49pts ; 3. Norbert Levente JOZSA 35pts ; 4. Ivan PUEYO GIL 30pts ; 5. Dominik OLSZOWY 29pts ; 6. Tim APOLLE 28pts ; 7. Dan MUNDELL 28pts ; 8. Diego HERRERA 21pts ; 9. Teodor KABAKCHIEV 18pts ; 10. Lee SEALEY 18pts…
