Briton Jonny Walker has kicked off his participation in the 2016/17 FIM SuperEnduro World Championship with a fourth place overall result at the opening round of the series in Krakow, Poland. Just one point from a podium finish, Walker enjoyed a positive night, with a number of small but costly mistakes while passing lapped riders keeping him from a top three result.

Making a strong start to the night’s racing Walker posted the fastest time in the Akrapovic SuperPole before placing third in the first of three finals. Fourth in the reverse start order second final, Jonny again placed fourth in the night’s closing race to secure fourth overall behind Taddy Blazusiak, Colton Haaker and Alfredo Gomez.

Jonny will next be in action at round two of the FIM SuperEnduro World Championship in Riesa, Germany on January 7. He said: “It’s great to be back racing in the series again. After such a good championship last year, to end up getting hurt and not being able to fight for the title was tough. It’s just great to be back racing. But, to be honest, I struggled with the track a little tonight and couldn’t find a good rhythm. I made a few costly mistakes while passing backmarkers and it cost me. I know I should’ve been third but it is what it is. That’s how SuperEnduro racing can go some times. There were positives, like my speed, so I’m taking the good things out of my night of racing in Poland.

“We have a little less than a month to the next round in Germany, so the plan is to continue working hard for that. As much as I wanted to be winning, it’s cool that Taddy got to top the podium at his very last race. We’ve been teammates for five years and I’ve learned so much from him. Taddy is a legend of our sport so it’s a fitting end to his career that he’s going out on top.”

Results – SuperEnduro World Championship, Rnd 1 (overall)
1. Taddy Blazusiak (KTM) 58 points 2. Colton Haaker (Husqvarna) 54 3. Alfredo Gomez (KTM) 45 4. Jonny Walker (KTM) 44 5. Mike Brown (Husqvarna) 31 6. Manni Lettenbichler (KTM) 26