Red Bull KTM Factory rider Taddy Blazusiak came out on top of a strong competition for KTM in Round Three of the FIM SuperEnduro World Championship in Helsinki, Finland on Sunday to move further ahead in the points.
Blazusiak, who also won the opening two rounds of the championship at home in Poland and in Riesa, Germany, picked up a 2-3-1 race result for his overall victory. Second overall went to KTM’s American rider Cody Webb, Red Bull KTM’s Jonny Walker was third and David Knight, racing for KTM UK was fourth.
Knight led for the first race but crashed and had to scramble back into the action from outside the top five. Husqvarna rider Alfredo Gomez had an early lead but he also crashed opening the way for a race win for Webb followed by Blazusiak, Knight and Walker in fourth spot.
Race two always starts in reverse order and Taddy did well to fight his way from the back into second place and come out better off after a hard battle with Webb. But it was Walker who took the win after a clean start to finish race. Knight had a good start, slipped past Paul Bolton early in the race and went on to finish second.
Blazusiak was running up front in the third race and had the measure of his opponents but Webb came back well and made a clean pass on Blazusiak. Webb then left the door open and Blazusiak took full advantage, bringing home the win ahead of Webb, Walker and Knight, who all rode well to make it a top result for KTM.
Taddy Blazusiak said later he was happy with the results but had struggled with his feeling and with the set-up for the bike. “We made a few changes between sessions and I was more comfortable, but before the last moto we did something that I’d say was more drastic.
“It felt way better and I could flow better. I was leading from start to finish, but on the last lap I was taking it easy when Cody passed me, although I got him back. It was a great race and it was an aggressive pass but pretty clean to be honest, and I was happy about that. It was a pass for the win, which was important. I’m pleased we’re building that gap in the championship and I’m pumped to win the race, as three in a row is good. I couldn’t have asked for more.”
Cody Webb said he felt confidence and had enjoyed the racing. “The track was kind of similar to American style, although not so prepped between motos, and I used that to my advantage, as a lot of guys were making mistakes.
“That’s been me the last few races, and I finally put it together for a good result. I had Taddy there at the finish, and then into the last corner I left a line open and got punted. I can’t be mad at him, and it’s good for him to get the overall, but there’s even more fight for me coming into the races in Brazil and Mexico.”
Jonny Walker, who picked up a 4-1-3 result said he was happy to be on the podium especially after two starts from the second row. “I can’t complain too much as we’re all still close on points. Cody has maybe pulled a few points on me, but I’ll keep pushing for the next round. In qualifying for my first fast lap I caught David and that messed my lap up, then the second good one I stalled it in the rocks, and after that I just couldn’t get a clean lap with the people I caught up with.”
Round Three of the championship also saw a strong showing in the Junior Class with the top four riders all on KTM.
