Blaz of glory
By TMX Archives on 22nd Nov 13
Taddy Blazusiak's defence of his SuperEnduro World Championship off to the best possible start, with a hat-trick of wins at round one in Liverpool.Keeping the home crowd on their toes, Shercos new-signing David Knight chased him hard for the runner-up result, while Jamie McCanney (Husqvarna) claimed a winning result in the Junior class. Adding to the British success inside the Echo Arena, Emma Bristow (Sherco) and Jane Daniels (Husqvarna) joined Laia Sanz (Honda) on the podium for the Womens class.After months of waiting the opening round of the 2014 FIM SuperEnduro World Championship finally took place inside Liverpools Echo Arena. With a large and enthusiastic crowd gathered to watch the worlds best endurocross riders in action, many hoped for a home win.But with Blazusiak performing at his absolute best, the Polish rider took all three Prestige Class race wins, while also setting the fastest time in Super Pole.Its been an incredible start to the SuperEnduro championship for me, told Blazusiak.Winning all three races and also topping the Super Pole has been better than I expected.In practice I was worried about my results as I struggled to find a goodset-up.The course was very technical and difficult to find a good line on. I knew my starts would be extremely important and tonight they didnt let me down.With a tight and twisty course for riders to contest, Blazusiak knew a good start would prove decisive on the night.Starting from the inside gate, he grabbed the holeshot for the first Final.But with a determined Knight in tow, the KTM rider struggled to hold him off.At the end of lap one, the Manxman made a dive for the lead but was unable to make it stick.Determined to hold the upper hand over his rival, Blazusiak kept control of the lead and upping his pace, he secured the first race win of the night.Struggling to match Blazusiaks speed in the final few laps, Knight settled for second, with Spaniard Dani Gibert (Husaberg) third.With the starting order reversed for the second Final, and the fast guys on the second row, USAs Kyle Redmond (KTM) took the holeshot as Knight, Blazusiak and Jonny Walker got caught in traffic.Finding some clear lines, Blazusiak made the best progress of the trio and worked his way up to third, as Gibert got around Redmond to take the race lead.Passing Redmond, Blazusiak closed in on Gibert and with two laps to go found a way past to take the win.With Gibert settled in second, Husqvarnas Alfredo Gomez was third, while Redmond just held off a visibly-disappointed Knight for fourth.With normal starting order resumed for Final No.3, Blazusiak rocketed out of the gate to claim his second holeshot of the night.Claiming a start-to-finish win, the Polish rider topped the overall classification.Behind him, Knight and Walker battled for second position.Despite matching the Manxmans pace, Walker couldnt find a way past the Sherco rider and had to settle for third.With second in the race, Knight ended round one as runner-up to Blazusiak.Its been a great start to the championship for me, confirmed Knight.I would have loved to come away with a race win here in front of my home crowd but I just couldnt make it happen.I gave it my best shot but the reversed start for the second Final didnt help me.It was hard to overtake and by the time I got to fifth the leaders were too far gone.Overall it has been fantastic to race a round of the world championship again. The crowd support has been brilliant and leaving Liverpool I now know where my speed is at and Im certain I can improve some more as the championship progresses.Im looking forward to the rest of the year.With Blazusiak and Knight finishing first and second, Gibert was the surprise of the night by placing third overall.Behind him, Spains Alfredo Gomez (Husqvarna) and USAs Cody Webb (Beta) completed the top five.Enduring a difficult night in Liverpool, Jonny Walkers progress was plagued by crashes.Getting a decent start in Final No.3, the young Brit showed what could have been with third behind Knight.It wasnt the best of nights for me, said Walker.I was riding well but had a few crashes that held me back. In Final No.1 I was up to fourth but a rider in front of me got cross-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 No.3 was my best race of the night to be honest. Everything seemed to come together for it and I got a good start and didnt crash.Overall its a little frustrating to finish sixth at my home race, as I would have loved to be on the podium.Making his KTM debut in Liverpool, Danny McCanney claimed an impressive ninth overall, while Tom Sagar (KTM) was 14th.
