FIM SuperEnduro, Rd1 Genoa, Italy: Team Press
Taddy dominates opening round of 2012 SuperEnduro World Championship
KTM Enduro Factory Team rider Taddy Blazusiak made the perfect start to his 2012 FIM SuperEnduro campaign as the recently crowned AMA Endurocross champion dominated round one of the former Indoor Enduro World Championship series held inside the Genoa Palasport Fiera stadium in Italy. With Blazusiak claiming victory in all three finals he now comfortably leads the championship with 60-points to his credit.
Having wrapped up the AMA Endurocross series just one week earlier in Las Vegas, Taddy arrived in Genoa as the pre-race favourite and immediately made his intentions known by recording the fastest lap in timed practice. With the top 11 riders in the series already guaranteed a place in the finals, the qualifying heats simply determined start positions for the main events. Crashing in the first corner of his heat race Taddy remounted in last position but quickly set about slicing his way through the field to take a hard fought victory.
Knowing a good start would be crucial in securing winning results, Blazusiak was first out of the starting gates in each of the three SuperEnduro finals. With a clear track ahead of him Blazusiak charged hard to lay down his fastest laps of the night in the early stages of all three finals, while opening up commanding leads. Controlling the races from the front, Taddy ended his night as the clear and deserved winner of the opening round of the FIM SuperEnduro World Championship, taking with it the maximum possible 60 points. With the series now heading to his home country of Poland in two weeks time all eyes will again be focused on the KTM rider to see if he can keep his winning streak alive.
Round two of the FIM Super Enduro World Championship takes place in Lodz, Poland, on December 10th.
Taddy: ‘It’s been an amazing start to my championship – winning each of the SuperEnduro finals has been the best possible way that I could start the series. Tonight my starts were perfect and I think that helped make my results possible. Getting out front straight away I was able to control my own race, avoid any trouble, and just ride comfortably. By winning all three races I couldn’t have asked for any more and now with my home race in Poland in a couple of weeks time it gives me a lot of motivation to continue working hard for another good result.’
Husaberg Press
Impressive Start to 2012 FIM SuperEnduro campaign for Husaberg
With high hopes of strong performance at the opening round of the FIM SuperEnduro World Championship following weeks of specialised indoor enduro training, Joakim Ljunggren’s hard work paid off as the rider that finished as runner-up in the 2011 Indoor Enduro World Championship ended the night as the overall second placed rider behind Taddy Blazusiak and ahead of Spaniard Cristob al Guerrero.
With the long awaited start of the series bringing together the cream of Europe’s indoor enduro talent, Joakim, who topped the opening final 12 months ago, got off to a somewhat shaky start as he only managed a sixth place result in the first final. Coming together with Blazusiak in the first corner of his qualifying race, Joakim’s night thankfully improved as he came agonisingly close to placing as runner-up in the second final.
Second overall for Joakim was a good end to a shaky start
With the chequered flag within sight Joakim all but looked assured of the second place result but hard-charging Italian Alex Salvini managed to find a way past, pushing Joakim into third. ‘In the beginning of the night I made a lot of mistakes and in turn had some costly crashes,’ commented Joakim. ‘I started badly in the opening SuperEnduro final and from there I couldn’t find a good rhythm to improve my result. I focused hard on my starts for the final two races and that made things a lot easier for me.’
In the night’s third and last final Joakim secured his best result having finally found his rhythm to claim a creditable second pace. ‘I’m very happy to come away with second overall today. I feel that my speed is good and my technical ability is strong but I need to work on my fitness a little more. It’s just so physical racing indoor enduro. I need to be a little stronger in the last few laps. Hopefully I can continue to improve on this result in Poland in two weeks time.’
Not alone in delivering good results for Husaberg, Spaniard Xavi Galindo ended the night fourth overall having placed fourth, seventh, and third in the three finals. With injuries curtailing his performances in the 2011 Indoor Enduro World Championship series, Xavi delivered much improved results having been free from injury and spent a lot of time competing throughout the past 10 months.
‘I’m just so pleased that I was able to ride like I know I can. Coming back from injury last year was tough and I just didn’t have the fitness to challenge for top results. I felt really good, really strong all night and enjoyed the racing. I didn’t have any big problems and despite finishing a little further down the results in the second final than I’d have liked, both the first and third races went well. Fourth is a great start to the championship.’
Gomez was fast but 'crash happy' in Genoa
Alfredo Gomez, the Junior Trials World Champion competing in the SuperEnduro series for Husaberg, set an impressive pace during the timed practice sessions but wasn’t quite able to turn his speed into the results he was hoping for. With mistakes hampering his performances in all three finals he ended the night eighth overall. Nevertheless Gomez, along with Ljunggren, Gallindo, and Germany’s Mike Hartmann and Spain’s Dani Gibert, who also qualified for the finals aboard their 250cc Husaberg’s, delivered impressive first round performances ensuring a solid start to the SuperEnduro series for Husaberg
‘Overall I felt that this was a tough race for me,’ confirmed Gomez. ‘During practice and warm up I felt very comfortable on my bike and was riding well on the track. But in the main event, I struggled to find a good rhythm. I was making mistakes and crashed almost each race, which cost me a lot of time. It was tough to pass and if you got a bad start you really had to force a move to get past another rider. I feel my speed is good, I just need to work on my starts and that should help me a lot at the next round in Poland.’