KTM Motorcycles SA (PTY) Ltd
Red Bull KTM's Taddy Blazusiak wrote himself another chapter in his book of sporting achievements on Saturday night in Cahors, France when he sealed a record sixth FIM SuperEnduro World Championship title in the final round of the competition. KTM's Cody Webb and Jonny Walker rounded out the top three in the series, while US KTM rider Ty Tremaine took the Junior World Championship title.
KTM Motorcycles SA (PTY) Ltd
Taddy Blazusiak, who went into the final round with an impressive points lead, secured the title after the second of three heats. He took the cautious approach in the opening heat but in the second race, where riders start in reverse order he was fast out in front and second place was enough for him to settle the championship. He wrapped up his night with a 3-2-3 result and also crowned his evening with a win in the Superpole on the KTM 300 EXC.
When asked how he felt winning his sixth SuperEnduro crown Blazusiak said: "Each title has its own story. I have really been working for this one and it's great after all the injuries and all the hard work. I just love what I do and I hate to lose. The game plan tonight was just to collect points and to stay out of trouble. I feel like I'm on top world right now. Coming into this race I knew I was in the perfect position to wrap up the title - I had a healthy points lead - but I still felt some pressure to get it done. Crossing the finishing line as World champion for the sixth time in a row is amazing. Overall it's been a fantastic season - four GP wins and a World championship - and I can't thank KTM, the team and everyone involved enough for the effort they put in."
It was also a big night out for KTM with Blazusiak's factory teammate Jonny Walker who won his first GP in the discipline on the KTM 250 EXC-F and finished third in the championship while American Cody Webb, also KTM, was second in both the GP and the championship.
To round off a great FIM SuperEnduro season for KTM, American rider Ty Tremaine took the Junior Championship title, even if it was deeply disappointing for his main rival for the title, KTM mounted Andreas Linusson of Sweden who crashed and broke his wrist in the practice sessions.
Tremaine: "It's an awesome feeling to be a World champion. It's been a crazy season but I've loved every minute. Starting out I didn't really know what to expect but taking the overall in Poland gave me confidence for the rest of the year. It was tough to see Andreas crash out in France, but that is part of racing. I'm delighted to have a World championship to my name now."
Blazusiak, a Red Bull athlete is also a five-times champion in the US-based EnduroCross and a five-times winner of the Red Bull Hare Scramble at Austria's Erzbergrodeo, one of the premium Extreme Enduro competitions on the calendar. Fans can look forward to seeing him compete in more of the Europe-based Extremes and other key Enduro competitions in 2015. The Polish rider has opted to forego continual trans-Atlantic commuting in favor of concentrating on events on the Europe side of the Atlantic.
Results Prestige Class SuperEnduro Cahors
1. Jonny Walker (GBR), KTM, 59 points (2-1-1, 1st GP win)
2. Cody Webb (USA), KTM, 55 (1-3-2)
3. Taddy Blazusiak (POL), KTM, 48 (3-2-3)
4. Alfredo Gomez (ESP), Husqvarna, 39 (4-4-4)
5. Paul Bolton (GBR), KTM, 30 (7-5-6)
Final Standings Prestige Class SuperEnduro
1. Blazusiak, 320 points (6th World title)
2. Webb, 282
3. Walker, 277
4. David Knight (GBR), KTM, 231 (DNS in final round)
5. Gomez, 212
Results Junior Class SuperEnduro Cahors
1. Ty Tremaine (USA), KTM, 57 points (2-1-1)
2. Manuel Lettenbichler (GER), KTM, 54 (1-2-2)
3. Cedric Tempier (FRA), Sherco, 45 (3-3-3)
4. Joshua Gotts (GBR), TM, 35 (4-5-5)
5. Owain Humphreys (GBR), Husqvarna (5-4-8)
Final Standings Junior Class SuperEnduro Cahors
1. Tremaine, 336 points (World title)
2. Andreas Linusson (SWE), KTM, 268 (DNS in final round)
3. Lettenbichler, 176
4. Gethin Humphreys (GBR), Husqvarna, 149
5. Jack Edmondson (GBR), KTM, 115