Walker wins at Fast Eddy Extreme Enduro
By Team TMX on 2nd Nov 15
As Extreme Enduro went indoors for the first time this season Red Bull KTM factory rider Jonny Walker continued his winning ways at the Fast Eddy event at UKs Stafford County Show Grounds venue on Sunday. The event saw the return to racing of Walkers teammate Taddy Blazusiak, who has been out for some months as a result of the debilitating effects of the Epstein Barr virus.
After three heats, it was Walker on the top step of the podium with a 1-1-2 result. UK's David Knight was overall second after taking 3-2-3 and Blazusiak third with 2-7-1. British riders Paul Bolton and Jonathan Richardson made up the top five in the Pro class. All rode KTM machines.
Blazusiak started the day well and was winner of the hot laps earlier in the day. He was also fastest qualifier, Knight was second and Walker third. Walker then went on to dominate the first two heats but he and Taddy had a close encounter in the second. Taddy crashed and hampered by a bent bike, came in at the back of the field. The Polish rider, who has dominated indoor events on both sides of the Atlantic as it has increased in popularity, then went out determined to get back in the action in the decisive third race.
Knight was the early leader in race three with Blazusiak close behind, followed by Walker. Blazusiak then captured the front spot and while Walker did manage slip briefly by, his advantage was short-lived. Blazusiak reclaimed the lead and still managed to take the win, even though he stalled going over the logs in the penultimate lap.
Jonny Walker: "It was good to be back on the track and really good to get the win and to see how my fitness is. I do have to work a lot on my fitness but I know my speed is there. I felt like I rode good tonight and I am happy to be going into the next one. There's a good rivalry between Taddy and me and I think that its going to be like that all year, as long as neither of us goes too hard on each other. Tonight I didn't feel I was aggressive. The track was probably one if the best I have ridden on. It was grippy in the last race and that made it really good racing. I've been working on my starts and they were good tonight. It's so important to get good starts.”
Taddy Blazusiak: "I had great fun and it was good to be back. It's been a while since I raced but everything is there, the speed is there. We still have some things to do with the bike but we got it way better at the end of the night. Jonny and me came together in the second moto and I went down, which was bad luck. I tried to go on but the front end was twisted and it just kept throwing me off the track. I'm really looking forward to the SuperEnduro championship.”
David Knight: "I enjoyed it. It was nice riding a 250 2-stroke. I've not ridden one for years. I got it last week and I've been out on it three times. I just had fun riding it. It's something you can get your teeth into. I haven't been training for this because I've been doing outdoors and that's completely different. I wasn't sure how to pace myself. I probably went a bit slow early on but I felt the best in the second race. The track was one of the best I've ridden on.”
The track was a challenging mix of rocks, logs and an artificial sand surface and was a good text for the coming FIM SuperEnduro World Championship due to get underway in Lodz, Poland in the first weekend in December.
Blazusiak will be out to retain not only the world title in the indoor SuperEnduro discipline but also to maintain the domination he has enjoyed on both sides of the Atlantic. He will however be challenged hard by teammate Walker who has been the outstanding and most winning rider in the 2015 outdoor season.
Results (Individual heat results in parenthesis):
1. Jonny Walker (GBR), KTM, (1-1-2)
2. David Knight (GBR), KTM (3-2-3)
3. Taddy Blazusiak (POL), KTM (2-7-1)
4. Paul Bolton (GBR), KTM (4-3-4)
5. Jonathan Richardson (GBR), KTM (5-6-5)
