While BLAZUSIAK dominated in Germany as Billy BOLT struggled, the young Husqvarna rider took his revenge during the third round of the season. BOLT set the fastest time in the Akrapovic SuperPole and proceeded to take three victories in front of the passionate Spanish crowd - therefore taking the maximum 63 points on the night! Having learned from his mistakes in Riesa, he completely dominated proceedings in A Coruña.
In the first race he quickly placed himself directly behind Taddy BLAZUSIAK after the Pole took the holeshot. With a very slick track, conditions seemed to suit BOLT, who usually thrives when there’s a lack of grip. From the second lap onwards, he lead the way in front of BLAZUSIAK and Jonny WALKER (GBR-KTM), with the latter finally seeming more comfortable and confident. The British Factory KTM rider finished in 3rd, and BLAZUSIAK was unable to hunt down BOLT, forced to settle for second behind the unstoppable kid from Newcastle.
In race two the riders have to face a ‘reverse grid’, but BOLT didn’t waste much time getting past early leaders Pol TARRES (SPA-Husqvarna) and Diogo VIEIRA (POR-Yamaha). While BOLT made his escape, BLAZUSIAK and WALKER found themselves stuck in traffic, and despite BOLT suffering a fall he kept out of reach as he crossed the finish line and took the chequered flag. Three laps from the end of the race, BLAZUSIAK was only in 8th position, but his fighting spirit came to the fore and he battled back to an important 4th. Jonny WALKER took 2nd, and Alfredo GOMEZ (ESP-Husqvarna) 3rd. William HOARE (GBR-KTM). 2019 Junior Champion, performed well to complete the Top 5.
Determined not to let BOLT get too far ahead in the standings, the two KTM riders pulled off fantastic starts in the last race. BLAZUSIAK was leading WALKER while BOLT was further back. But on the second lap BLAZUSIAK went down, letting WALKER shoot past. It seemed as if Taddy’s team-mate was finally on for a race win, but a mistake cost him near certain victory. In the end, no-one could stop BOLT as he charged through for his 3rd victory of the evening. Jonny WALKER and Taddy BLAZUSIAK completed the top three in this final race. Billy BOLT now has 169 points in the standings, and takes over at the front of the championship by 6 points ahead of BLAZUSIAK. WALKER is 33 points back, but not out of the title chase. GOMEZ is now fourth, 10 points from WALKER.
Junior: CULLINS Cracks, KABAKCHIEV Takes his Chance
America’s Ty CULLINS (TM), leader of the Junior category, experienced his worst evening since his debut in the FIM SuperEnduro World Championship. The TM rider didn’t finish in the top three during any of the races in A Coruña. The Californian fell foul of the many pitfalls in the Spanish arena. After several crashes, he failed to find the pace or the confidence to fight at the front.
Teodor KABAKCHIEV, the Bulgarian KTM rider, was the big winner of the evening. After taking victory in race two, and a couple of second places, he took overall victory in Spain. The first race was won by Dominik OLSZOWY (POL-KTM) ahead of KABAKCHIEV and Leon HENTSCHEL (GER-KTM). KABAKCHIEV took top honours in race two ahead of Milan SCHMUESER (GER-Sherco) and HENTSCHEL. And the German Sherco rider won the last race at the expense of KABAKCHIEV and France’s Adrien JACON (KTM).
The Junior Championship therefore has a new leader in the form of Leon HENTSCHEL (GER-KTM), who now has 138 points, CULLINS limits the damage by leaving A Coruña second in the rankings, 5 points down. Following his excellent evening, KABAKCHIEV is now 3rd on 125 points. We’ll meet again in Budapest in 2 weeks to see what will happen at Round 4 of this tense and exciting season.
What They Said:
Billy BOLT: “Taddy set the bar high in Germany, and I didn’t perform well at all, so I really wanted to take ‘revenge’ here in Spain tonight and pull back some points in the Championship. I’m surprised this track suited me, I think it was because it was so slippery, and I’m really happy to come back with a win after being disappointed in Riesa. I just tried to avoid mistakes as much as I could.”
Jonny WALKER: “Tonight went well for me, I got good starts. I did stall the bike a few times but I was riding solidly and doing good lines. I didn’t make too many mistakes and I learned the track quickly, it meant I was able to come 2nd behind Billy, he was unstoppable tonight.”
Taddy BLAZUSIAK: “The track was very technical so you couldn’t race hard, you had to be cautious and try not to make mistakes. In the second race I had a couple of weird get-offs, and I struggled a bit. But in the end I’m happy with 3rd, despite the mistakes, I’m not far behind in the championship and it could’ve been worse tonight. Billy is riding really well, but I’m ready for Budapest.”
Prestige Class:
Final 1 : 1. Billy BOLT ; 2.Taddy BLAZUSIAK; 3.Jonny WALKER; 4.Alfredo GOMEZ ; 5.Tim APOLLE
Final 2 : 1. Billy BOLT ; 2.Jonny WALKER ; 3.Alfredo GOMEZ; 4.Taddy BLAZUSIAK; 5. Will HOARE
Final 3 : 1. Billy BOLT ; 2.Jonny WALKERAlfredo GOMEZ; 3.Taddy BLAZUSIAK ; 4.Alfredo GOMEZ; 5. Blake GUTZEIT
Provisionnal classification: 1. Billy BOLT 169pts ; 2. Taddy BLAZUSIAK 163 pts ; 3. Jonny WALKER 136pts ; 4. Alfredo GOMEZ 126pts ; 5. Blake GUTZEIT 89pts.
Junior Class :
Final 1 : 1. Dominik OLSZOWY ; 2. Teodor KABAKCHIEV; 3.Leon HENTSCHEL; 4. Raul GUIMERA ; 5. Adrien JACON
Final 2 : 1. Teodor KABAKCHIEV ; 2.Milan SCHMUESER ; 3. Leon HENTSCHEL. ; 4. Adrien JACON; 5. Dominik OLSZOWY
Final 3 : 1. Milan SCHMUESER ; 2. Teodor KABAKCHIEVLeon HENTSCHEL ; 3. Adrien JACON; 4.Alessandro AZZALINI ; 5. Dominik OLSZOWY.
Provisionnal classification : 1. Leon HENTSCHEL 138 pts ; 2.Ty CULLINS 133 pts ; 3. Teodor KABAKCHIEV 125 pts ; 4.Adrien JACON 121pts ; 5. Milan SCHMUESER 76pts…
