Taddy Blazusiak on Saturday night launched his bid to retain the World Indoor Enduro title (now rebranded as SuperEnduro World Championship) in Genoa, Italy coming away with three superb victories in all three finals.
KTM factory teammate Cristobal Guerrero of Spain was on the podium in third place after a 1-6-7 result to wrap up a great start to the season for KTM.
Fresh from his triumph of a season in the US where he not only took the inaugural X-Games gold medal in August but also coming off a copybook season in the Endurocross where he won every round, the Polish rider thrilled a crowd of almost 8000 in the Genoa venue. He now prepares to face his home crowd in Lodz, Poland in the next round on Dec 10, 2011, a new experience for the rider who has emerged to dominate the sport along with its fast growing popularity.
Taddy said after the event that his good starts had set him up for a strong result in Genoa even though he admitted to a small mistake in the second final when he lost ‘a few’ seconds’ with arm pump.
Taddy Blazusiak: “I think the most important thing tonight was my starts. They were amazing. I could feel I was on the limit of the grip and I could push as hard as I wanted to. I could see the point where I was going to end up. Good starts make my job so much easier. I can pull a little gap on the other guys and race my own race.” Taddy was also full of praise for his KTM 350 four stroke describing it after the races as “amazing”.
It was also a solid start for KTM’s Cristobal Guerrero also from the KTM Enduro Factory Team who has also come off a strong season, finishing second overall in the E2 World Championship. He finished in third place behind Husaberg rider Joakim Ljunggren.
Cristobal Guerrero: I started very well in the first heat and then in the second I tried to push but it was hard for all the riders because there was only one line. Then in the last race I tried to do a good start and finish on the podium.” Cristobal rode a KTM 250 EXC 2-stroke machine.
It was also a good start to the season for KTM’s supported rider Johnny Walker of Britain who finished fifth. Johnny made his first big impression in the international scene at the 2011 Erzberg Rodeo where he finished third. He was second in the Inaugural Rd Bull Sea to Sky Enduro in Turkey in late summer and also made an appearance in the final round of the US Endurocross.
The race format was made up of three qualifying heats and two last chance qualifying races. Sixteen riders then went on to contest the three finals.
Results
1, Taddy Blazusiak, Poland, KTM
2, Joakim Ljunggren, Sweden, Husaberg
3, Gristobal Guerero, Spain, KTM
5, Johnny Walker, Britain, KTM
