Battling hard right to the finish, GASGAS Factory Racing’s Taddy Blazusiak kicked off the FIM SuperEnduro World Championship with a fighting fourth at round one. Narrowly missing out on a podium result at his home race, the Polish star still tied on points with third place to ensure a solid start to the new season.
Looking to get his FIM SuperEnduro World Championship off to a solid start, Taddy Blazusiak put in a strong showing on home soil to take a close fourth overall at round one in Poland. A difficult track with soft dirt made for tough racing on the night in Krakow. However, the multi-time world champ was eager to make the best of it.
Rolling out for the SuperPole hot lap, Taddy showed he had pace and his lines dialed in by setting the second fastest time of the night, earning himself two extra championship points.
With confidence building, he wanted to turn that speed into three solid results. However, a crash on the opening lap of race one put him on the back foot. In spirited style, Taddy set about charging his way forward and gave everything to finish fourth.
With the customary reversed start order for race two, Taddy looked to fight his way to the front early on. Slipping past his rivals, he got his GASGAS out front, much to the roar and delight of his home crowd. Battling back and forth with eventual race winner Billy Bolt, the Polish star put on a show. Dropping back to second, a small mistake during the closing laps saw him slip to third at the checkered flag.
Hoping to make amends in the third and final Prestige race, a crash on the opening lap dropped Taddy down the order. Knowing a place on the overall podium was hanging in the balance, the EC 350F mounted rider pushed hard to regroup. Racing his way from eighth to fourth, Taddy tied for third overall, but agonizingly just missed out on that home-round podium result he wanted.
With the opening round of the season done, Taddy now looks ahead to round two in Germany on January 7, 2023.
Taddy Blazusiak: “It was a tough race tonight. The dirt was so difficult to ride. Big ruts formed on the jumps, and it was hard to make consistent clean laps. In race one I used a lot of energy going from last to fourth and my arms pumped up at the end of that race. They stayed really tight for the rest of the night, and I was fighting against myself at times. I’m disappointed not to finish on the podium at home, but tying on points for third is still a good result for the championship. My speed and pace is good, so I’m confident for more in Germany.”
FIM SuperEnduro World Championship, Round 1, Poland
Event Classification
1. Billy Bolt (Husqvarna) 63 points
2. Jonny Walker (Beta) 51 pts
3. Cody Webb (Sherco) 43 pts
4. Taddy Blazusiak (GASGAS) 43 pts
Prestige Race 1
1. Billy Bolt (Husqvarna)
2. Jonny Walker (Beta)
3. Cody Webb (Sherco)
4. Taddy Blazusiak (GASGAS)
Prestige Race 2
1. Billy Bolt (Husqvarna)
2. Jonny Walker (Beta)
3. Taddy Blazusiak (GASGAS)
Prestige Race 3
1. Billy Bolt (Husqvarna)
2. Jonny Walker (Beta)
3. Cody Webb (Sherco)
4. Taddy Blazusiak (GASGAS)