After an intense and action-packed season, the 2019 FIM Maxxis SuperEnduro World Championship will come to its conclusion this Saturday, April 6th, at the Bizkaia Arena in Bilbao (Basque Country) with a grand finale! And, for the first time since the Idubaltza Kirol Kluba started hosting rounds of the SuperEnduro, the FIM has given them the huge task of organising a finale.
Three Times an Organiser, Now to Host the Finale!
For this long awaited final, Imanol TARRAMONA and his club have once again chosen the Bizkaia Arena as the venue. The Bizkaia Arena is located more precisely in Barakaldo, on the outskirts of Bilbao. It is one of eight halls that make up the Bilbao Exhibition Center. This sports hall with a capacity of around 15,000 has already hosted renowned sporting events such as the Men's Basketball World Cup in 2014 and the 2007 Spanish Basketball Supercup. A Supercross event was also hosted here.
The Bizkaia Arena in Bilbao, a city located in the northwest of Spain in the Autonomous Community of the Basque Country, will undoubtedly have an electrifying atmosphere for all 8 finals of the evening where HAAKER, WEBB and BLAZUSIAK will try to give the fans a show worthy of the one experienced last season in Sweden or three years ago in Madrid.
Can HAAKER Hold Off WEBB & BLAZUSIAK?
The misadventures of Cody WEBB (USA - KTM) and Taddy BLAZUSIAK (PL - KTM) during the third race in Madrid in February allowed Colton HAAKER (USA - Husqvarna) to build up a small cushion of advantage. The Californian is now 12 points ahead of WEBB and 27 ahead of BLAZUSIAK! The KTM Factory riders will have three 6-minute races + 1 lap to catch up with the double World Champion and win the coveted crown.
For his part, HAAKER will have to show great mental strength to avoid a catastrophic scenario where he sees the title slip from his grasp...
On top of that, there are many riders who could complicate proceedings by putting in their own top performances. Spain’s Alfredo GOMEZ (E - Husqvarna) and Pol TARRES (E - Husqvarna) could be particularly strong, especially since they’re embroiled in their own fight for 4th place in the standings.
We should also keep an eye on Blake GUTZEIT (RSA - Husqvarna) who is climbing up the results sheet race by race throughout the season and will want to get into the Top 5.
Meanwhile, Diogo VIEIRA (P - Yamaha), Kevin GALLAS (D - Husqvarna) and David LEONOV (R - Husqvarna) will try hard to secure their places in the Top 10 overall.
And watch out for the freshly crowned Junior World Champion, William HOARE (GB - Husqvarna) who will face the top guns in the Prestige category this weekend and start his preparation for next season...
In the Juniors, the suspense has lessened since an unstoppable William HOARE was crowned in early February in Budapest. But there is still plenty to look forward to as we see who out of Tim APOLLE (D - Husqvarna) and David CYPRIAN (CZ - KTM) can snatch second place in the championship.
Behind CYPRIAN and APOLLE, the battle for the last two spots in the Top 5 should also be interesting. Leon HENTSCHEL (D - KTM), Norbert LEVENTE JOSZA (RO - Husqvarna), Diego HERRERA (CL - TM), and Teodor KABAKCHIEV (BG - KTM) are all in with a shout. Keep an eye on the local riders Raul GUIMERA (Sherco) and Ivan PUEYO GIL (KTM) who will have the support of the passionate public.
European Cup: Four Riders Fight it Out
Finally, in the European Cup, this 2019 season finale is wide open. Robert SCHARL (D - Husqvarna), Tom KNIGHT (GB - Gas Gas), Thomas HOSTINSKY (SK - Husqvarna) and Paul BURY (F - Beta) all have the possibility of claiming the title in this 4th season of the Cup.
The battle for the gold medal will therefore offer suspense and excitement until the last race.
We will also see the sister of Alfredo GOMEZ, Sandra, challenging the men in this category, while local rider Inaki GOMARIN GUEVARA will also be on the starting grid...
With so much still to play for we’re expecting a night of high tension, with many unanswered questions:
Can HAAKER resist his rivals and raise his third world title in four years? Will WEBB be strong enough to overcome his 12 points deficit and win his second title in a row? Or is BLAZUSIAK able to do the seemingly impossible and reconfirm his legend status with an incredible 7th World title? Does HOARE already have the means to fight towards the front in Prestige? Let’s find out all this and more on Saturday April 6th at the Bizkaia Arena in the Bilbao Exhibition Center!
Don’t forget that you can also follow all the action from this Final Round LIVE on enduro-tv.com from 20:30 CET.
Practical Info:
- Bilbao (Basque Country, Spain);
- 397 km North of Madrid, 119 km from the French border;
- Saturday 6 April from 16:00 CET (Doors Open) ;
- Organisation: Idubaltza Kirol Kluba;
- Website: www.superenduro.org;
- Programme: 3 Prestige races, 3 Junior races, and 2 European races;
- Ticket prices: From 30€ to 35€;
- Airport: Bilbao
- LIVE coverage: From 20:30 CET on enduro-tv.com
