Billy Bolt claimed a hat-trick of victories at round three of the FIM SuperEnduro World Championship in La Coruna, Spain, while fellow Briton Jonny Walker took second place.
Delivering his best result of the series to date, Jonny Walker took another positive forward step in returning to his best having missed the 2019 indoor season due to injury. Putting together a memorable night, the British rider raced to a confidence-boosting runner-up result, placing just 14 points behind overall winner Bolt.
Bolt secured a maximum points haul to return to the top of the championship standings with two rounds remaining. Despite a difficult home round, Spaniard Alfredo Gomez battled hard throughout the night to take fourth and maintain fourth overall in the series.
Disappointed with his performance last time out in Germany, Bolt arrived in Spain eager to make amends and deliver a redeeming result. On what was an increasingly slippery and technical course, the Brit looked in command as he rode his Husqvarna FE 350 to victory.
Beginning his night with a blisteringly fast Superpole lap, Billy topped the classification by almost two seconds. Carrying that momentum into the first of the night’s three races, the Brit quickly hit the front of the field on lap two and was never headed. Controlling the race throughout, Bolt claimed the win with a confidence-boosting 11-second margin of victory.
Starting from the back of the grid in the reversed start order race two, Billy again worked his way into the lead on lap two. Despite a couple of mistakes in heavy traffic, he kept his cool to take the win. With a clean sweep up for grabs, Bolt duly delivered in the third and final race of the night. After an early battle with rival Jonny Walker, Bolt took the lead on lap four. Racing clear and opening up a sizeable 32-second advantage he took the win, comfortably claiming the top step of the podium and with it the championship leader’s red plate.
Looking forward to making a good impression on the leaderboard at his home round, Alfredo Gomez didn’t quite have the night he was hoping for in La Coruna. Despite placing third-quickest in the morning’s timed practice, a crash during his Superpole hot lap qualified him in sixth. Faced with a disadvantaged grid position for races one and three, the Husqvarna rider fought to make the best of his situation on his TE 300i.
Fourth in race one and fifth in race three, the Spaniard secured his best result of the night when grid positions were reversed for race two. Capitalising on an outside start, he exited the second corner in fourth position. Finding a strong rhythm, he placed an impressive third to show what could have been if Superpole had gone his way.
The FIM SuperEnduro World Championship continues with round four in Budapest, Hungary on February 1, 2020.
Billy Bolt:“I’m made up by just how well tonight has gone. It’s the first time I’ve won all three races and taken the Superpole, so all in it’s gone about as perfect as it could have done. After my performance in Germany I wanted to come here and redeem myself. But to be honest, when I walked the course I didn’t expect it to suit me so well. However, as the night progressed I adapted to the changing terrain and conditions. You needed to muscle the bike around in places, but at the same time be calm and patient. I did my best to avoid mistakes and take the opportunities when they came to me. It worked, especially with race three – that felt perfect. Of course there’s still a long way to go in the championship, we’re far from over, but to take maximum points and get the leader’s red plate back is fantastic.”
From a second row start in race two, Jonny steadily moved his way up the field to take second on lap four of nine. Shadowing race leader Billy Bolt, he applied pressure during the latter stages of the race to finish close behind and claim a well-deserved second place finish. Delivering another fast start in race three, Walker led the first three laps before eventually placing second.
Jonny Walker:“It’s been another good night and I feel like I’m showing that I’m making steps forward with each round. I’m delighted with second and another visit to the podium. On a tricky course I managed to get good starts and that made a big difference. I wasn’t always the fastest on the track, but I was consistently hitting my lines every lap, which was making things count. Looking at my results as a whole, I’ve improved each time. Fourth in Poland, third in Germany and now second tonight, that gives me a lot of confidence heading into the next round.”
Hoping to build on the winning result he earned last time out in Germany, Taddy Blazusiak didn’t have the night he hoped for in Spain. Never quite getting his best out of the technical course, numerous uncharacteristic mistakes hampered his progress.
After a strong ride to second in the opening race, his momentum unravelled in race two. A poor start forced him off the preferred racing line on numerous occasions as he battled his way forward, resulting in some costly crashes. Placing a close fourth, he recovered in race three for third and with it secured third overall on the night.
Taddy Blazusiak:“The track was the real decider tonight. It either worked for you or it tripped you up. Unfortunately, for the majority of the time it got the better of me. I felt like after practice I had it figured out and in race one I managed to get it right. You needed to let it come to you – in a way ride slow to go faster. In race two things sort of came undone and I made too many strange mistakes. It was the same in race three, too. But I’m experienced enough not to dwell on it. There’s a lot of racing left to go in this championship and I’m looking forward to returning to the stadium in Budapest where I know I can show what I’m capable of.”
Results – SuperEnduro World Championship, Round 3
Prestige Overall Classification
1. Billy Bolt (Husqvarna) 63 points; 2. Jonny Walker (KTM) 49pts; 3. Taddy Blazusiak (KTM) 46pts; 4. Alfredo Gomez (Husqvarna) 39pts; 5. Blake Gutzeit (Husqvarna) 29pts…
Prestige Race 1
1. Billy Bolt (Husqvarna) 10 laps, 7:26.266; 2. Taddy Blazusiak (KTM) 7:37:779; 3. Jonny Walker (KTM) 8:01.095; 4. Alfredo Gomez (Husqvarna) 9 laps, 7:30.946; 5. Tim Apolle (Sherco) 7:45.406…
Prestige Race 2
1. Billy Bolt (Husqvarna) 9 laps, 6:52.472; 2. Jonny Walker (KTM) 6:55.838; 3. Alfredo Gomez (Husqvarna) 7:28.350; 4. Taddy Blazusiak (KTM) 7:29.412; 5. William Hoare (KTM) 7:40.302…
Prestige Race 3
1. Billy Bolt (Husqvarna) 10 laps, 7:18.487; 2. Jonny Walker (KTM) 7:51.089; 3. Taddy Blazusiak (KTM) 7:57.309; 4. Blake Gutzeit (Husqvarna) 9 laps, 7:25.923; 5. Alfredo Gomez (Husqvarna) 7:39.290…
Championship Standings (After Round 3 of 5)
1. Billy Bolt (Husqvarna) 169pts; 2. Taddy Blazusiak (KTM) 163pts; 3. Jonny Walker (KTM) 136pts; 4. Alfredo Gomez (Husqvarna) 126pts; 5. Blake Gutzeit (Husqvarna) 89pts…