Lodz Knight out
By TMX Archives on 20th Dec 13
Denying Taddy Blazusiak the chance of a hat-trick of wins inside the Atlas Arena, David Knight put his Sherco firmly on the top step of the podium at round two of the FIM SuperEnduro World Championship in Lodz, Poland.
Building on his runner-up result from the opening round of the series in Liverpool, Knight delivered a stunning performance in Poland to claim the overall win.
And with Jane Daniels securing a runaway victory in the Women's class and Jamie McCanney ending his night second overall in the Junior category, the Brits ruled the roost in Poland.
"It's been a brilliant night for me,” said Knight after the podium celebrations in Poland.
"I felt that I'd been riding well in the lead-up to this event but I also knew that Taddy would be tough to beat.
"To win Final #1 and come away with the overall is fantastic.”
Getting his morning off to a perfect start, Knight topped the timed practice and set the tone for the remainder of the evening.
Knowing that the pressure would be on Blazusiak to deliver a winning performance in Poland, the Manxman quickly capitalised on a mistake by the KTM rider in Final #1 and took control of the lead.
With Blazusiak crashing, Knight grabbed the lead and pushed hard to take the win.
Knowing that anything could happen in the reversed start for Final #2, the Sherco rider fought his way inside the top ten.
Forcing a pass wherever possible he steadily worked his way up to sixth by the end of the race.
With the overall still to play for, the Manxman quickly slotted into third position in Final #3.
With Blazusiak and Mathias Bellino swapping positions, Knight waited until their battle fizzled out and then took control of second place, knowing that result was good enough to secure the overall win, as he followed Blazusiak across the line.
"Leading into the final race of the night I knew the overall was on the cards,” said Knight.
"But I couldn't take anything for granted. I got another decent start and quickly found my way into third.
"Up front both Taddy and Mathias Bellino were pushing the pace and I didn't want to get involved so I just let them go at it until it fizzled out.
"Taddy kept charging but Bellino made some mistakes and I got around him for second and I knew then the overall was safe and rode smart to get it.
"Winning in Poland felt awesome – it has been a long time coming.
"I have had race wins in the past but just kept missing out on the top step of the podium.
"Getting the overall makes all the sacrifices worthwhile. We are just a small team – Sherco is a small factory – so to be able to reward them with a victory so soon is incredible.
"I am looking forward to the rest of the season now and will be giving it my all to win some more.”
Unable to claim a winning result in Poland, Blazusiak was forced to settle for second place.
"For the second time in a row Spain's Dani Gibert (Husaberg) ended his night third overall, helped by victory in Final #2.
Suffering mixed fortunes in Poland, Jonny Walker (KTM) was a little disappointed with his overall result of sixth. Hampered by a lowly eighth in Final #1, the Brit constantly improved throughout the night to finish third behind Blazusiak and Knight in Final #3.
"It has not been the best of nights for me,” told Walker,
"I had some crashes and mistakes in the first two races that hurt my overall score despite finishing third in Final #3.
"After some okay results I focused a lot on the start for Final #3 and it paid off.
"My reaction was great and this time I learned from my previous mistakes and held my ground better. It paid off and I was fourth
before improving to third by the race end.
"Sixth overall on the night is not ideal but third in Final #3 shows I am still improving.”
Delivering one of his best SuperEnduro performances to date, Danny McCanney had a lot to be pleased about.
FOR FULL REVIEW AND PICTURES SEE TMX DEVEMBER 20
