Round one of the 2014 FIM Superenduro World Championship was one of mixed fortunes for KTM Enduro Factory Team rider Jonny Walker. Suffering numerous crashes throughout the night, Walker ended the event sixth overall despite a best race result of third in Final Three.
With the opening round of the 2014 SuperEnduro series marking a home race for the young Brit, Jonny had high hopes of delivering a podium result in front of his home crowd. Starting strongly in the first of three finals, the KTM rider was fighting for a top three result until he crashed trying to avoid a fallen rider. Regrouping he battled his way back to sixth.
Starting from the second row of the grid for Final Two, Walker played a game of catch up as he worked his way through the field. Buried deep in traffic for the majority of the race he eventually placed eighth. Determined to improve his fortunes, Walker turned his luck around in Final Three. Rounding the first turn inside the top three, he fought hard with David Knight for the runner-up result. Unable to find a way into the runner-up position, Jonny came home third, ending round one of the series in sixth overall.
The 2014 FIM Superenduro World Championship continues with round two in Poland on December 14.
“It wasn’t the best of nights for me,” said Jonny Walker. “But it was great to race in front of a home crowd. I was riding good but I had a few crashes that held me back. The track was quite one lined in places and when you made a mistake it was really difficult to recover from it.
“In Final One I was up to fourth but a rider in front of me got crossed rutted on the tyre jump and I crashed trying to avoid him. I lost a lot of places as a result but managed to get back to sixth. Final Three was my best race of the night. Everything seemed to come together for it. I got a good start and didn’t crash. I was riding with David Knight for the entire race but I just didn’t have the energy on the final lap to try and pass him.
“Overall it’s a little frustrating to finish sixth at my home race. I would have loved to have been on the podium but I know my speed is good and if I limit my mistakes I can easily improve at the next round in Poland.”
