Taddy Blazusiak made a winning start to the defence of his FIM SuperEnduro World Championship campaign on Saturday night, topping all three main event finals at round one of the SuperEnduro series in Gdansk, Poland.
Switching to a 300cc two-stroke for his 2015 SuperEnduro campaign, in winning Blazusiak already holds a 12-point advantage. Here Taddy talks about winning in front of his home crowd, switching back to a two-stroke and his near disastrous start to the first main event…
DBR: Taddy, championships don’t start much better than that?
Taddy: “No, it’s a perfect start. I knew that I was riding well, and making a good start to the championship was absolutely what I wanted to do. But I never thought things would go as well as they have. I gave away one point all night – it doesn’t get much better than that.”
DBR: Things didn’t start well, what happened out of the gate in the first final?
Taddy: “The crash at the start of the first race wasn’t anyone’s fault, not any of the riders. It was way too tight, and right hand corners are always tricky. No one’s going to back down into the first turn of the first race of the first round of the championship. I guess three into one just didn’t work out. I knew from the minute I left the gate that it wasn’t going to be good, but I kept on it to see if things would be ok. I guess we know that it didn’t go well.”
DBR: Your last-to-first charge was unquestionably the highlight of the night for many…
Taddy: “I was really pleased with the way I rode in that first race. Making good of a bad situation is what matters indoors. My bike was pretty bent, and I guess some riders made their own mistakes and that helped me, but I felt like I was on it and putting in good laps and taking good lines. I just kept pushing. I knew I should be able to get somewhere near the top, but to win it was way more than I expected.”
DBR: Switching to the 300cc two-stroke obviously worked out well for you. How was it being back racing a two-stroke?
Taddy: “I kept the fact that I would be a racing a 300 quiet, but for no real reason. I wanted to get the final US Endurocross race done, which went great, and then there wasn’t much time before we were here in Poland. I spent a few weeks on the 300 testing, but there you’re at 95 per cent. When you’re racing you are at 100 per cent. I’m really enjoying being back on a 300. We still have work to do, because I learned a lot at race speed. I also have to get used to it. But I feel like I can get better.”
DBR: Some people suggested that you wouldn’t be as hard to beat as in previous years, because of your recent loss in the US Endurocross series. Did that give extra motivation to win?
Taddy: “I feel like I lost the chance to win the Endurocross title because of two bad starts. I was on the ground in the first turn at two races. When racing’s as tight as it is over there it is so, so hard to get back to the guys out front if you crash. I had luck on my side for a couple of years, just not at times this year. It is what it is. I didn’t win, but I did my best. I have five Endurocross titles, so I know how to race.”
DBR: Did racing in front of your home crowd pile on the pressure, or give you a boost?
Taddy: “People say a home advantage is worth half or even one second each lap, but I never feel it. It’s hard to say. I always try to go as hard as I can and pressure doesn’t really worry me too much. I’ve been doing this for a long time now. I know that the fans that come to watch in Poland really get into the show, and it’s great to know that I put on a great show.”
DBR: What’s next, feet up and enjoy the Christmas break?
Taddy: “I’ll just keep doing my thing and working to improve my fitness and the set-up of the 300. It won’t be long before we’re back racing at round two, so I want to be completely ready for that…”
