Rnd 4, SuperEnduro 2020 - Budapest, Hungary
Finding his form in the second half of the championship, Jonny Walker raced his way to the runner-up result in Budapest, while also securing a race win. The Brit now sits third in the championship standings. Eager to match his performance from the previous event in Spain, the British rider was quick to get up to speed at the penultimate round of the series.
Narrowly missing out on topping the Akrapovic SuperPole by just three tenths of a second, Jonny carried his impressive pace into race one. A strong start saw him move into the lead on lap three of 10. Feeling confident out front, Walker was able to show his winning speed and controlled the remainder of the race to take an eight-second margin of victory.
Looking for further winning results in the following two races, he again put himself at the sharp end of the results. Fighting hard in each race, he went on to finish a strong second each time out to end his night as runner-up. Now, with one round remaining, he sits third in the championship chase.
Jonny Walker: “I’d been waiting for a ride like I had in race one for a while now. Things just sort of clicked and came together and I was able to make it count for the win. I got a strong start and put myself into the lead on lap two and was never properly challenged. It was brilliant to get a race win under my belt again. For the rest of the night my speed was there, but that break just didn’t come. But to back race one up with a pair of second place finishes is very good. Overall, it’s been a strong night and I’ve again shown myself as one of the championship’s strongest riders. I’m also enjoying myself a lot on the track. There’s still a lot to play for at the final round. We’re going to Lodz which is a stadium I’ve enjoyed a lot of success at in the past, so I’ll be fighting hard to end the series on a high for sure.”
For Taddy Blazusiak, Budapest didn’t pan out as hoped as the Pole found himself unable to ride the increasingly slippery course like he wanted to. With numerous mistakes in the opening two races he had to battle from 10th to finish inside the top three.
Attacking hard in the final race, he got into the lead early on lap one. A number of small errors dropped him back where, unable to respond to the leaders, he took fourth. Boosted by his earlier results, the KTM rider ended his night third overall to hold second in the title fight with one round remaining.
Taddy Blazusiak: “It’s been a bumpy night for sure. I feel like I made the wrong decisions regards setup during practice. I expected the track to develop in a different way than it did and that made it harder for me to race on. I was off my game in the first two races and when I got to the front in race three, I couldn’t be consistent in my riding and made mistakes. Unfortunately, that’s how racing goes sometimes, but I’ll go to Poland hoping to do all I can to win. It’s my home race so I’ve got five weeks to prepare, be ready and go for the title.”
The five-round FIM SuperEnduro World Championship concludes in Lodz, Poland on March 14, 2020.
Results - SuperEnduro World Championship, Round 4
Prestige Overall Event Classification
1. Billy Bolt (GBR), Husqvarna, 58 points
2. Jonny Walker (GBR), KTM, 56 pts
3. Taddy Blazusiak (POL), KTM, 46 pts
4. Alfredo Gomez (ESP), Husqvarna, 35 pts
5. Pol Tarres (ESP), Husqvarna, 29 pts
Other KTM
6. Will Hoare (GBR), KTM, 27 pts
Prestige Race 1
1. Jonny Walker (GBR), KTM, 10 laps, 7:08.810
2. Taddy Blazusiak (POL), KTM, 7:16.956 +8.146
3. Billy Bolt (GBR), Husqvarna, 7:21.811 +13.001
4. Will Hoare (GBR), KTM, 7:11.130 +1 lap
5. Alfredo Gomez (ESP), Husqvarna, 7:18.420 +1 lap
Prestige Race 2
1. Billy Bolt (GBR), Husqvarna, 10 laps 7:20.134
2. Jonny Walker (GBR), KTM, 7:42.688 +22.554
3. Taddy Blazusiak (POL), KTM, 7:55.681 +35.547
4. Pol Tarres (ESP), Husqvarna, 8:04.583 +44.449
5. Blake Gutzeit (RSA), 8:04.845 +44.711
Other KTM
10. Will Hoare (GBR), KTM, 7:33:968 +1 lap
Prestige Race 3
1. Billy Bolt (GBR), Husqvarna, 10 laps 7:12.165
2. Jonny Walker (GBR), KTM, 7:35.362 +23.197
3. Alfredo Gomez (ESP), Husqvarna, 7:37.353 +25.188
4. Taddy Blazusiak (POL), KTM, 7:45.441 +33.276
5. Blake Gutzeit (RSA), Husqvarna, 7:26.428 +1 lap
Other KTM
6. Will Hoare (GBR), KTM, 7:32:549 +1 lap
Championship Standings (After round 4 of 5)
1. Billy Bolt (GBR), Husqvarna, 227 points
2. Taddy Blazusiak (POL), KTM, 209 pts
3. Jonny Walker (GBR), KTM 192 pts
4. Alfredo Gomez (ESP), Husqvarna 161 pts
5. Blake Gutzeit (RSA), Husqvarna 112 pts
Other KTM
7. Will Hoare (GBR), KTM, 82 pts