Tadeusz Blazusiak (KTM) was the only and spectacular winner of the Indoor Enduro in Barcelona, the second scoring event in the FIM Indoor Enduro World Championship 2011. The Polish rider won the three finals with such authority as to overthrow the Finnish rider Mika Ahola (HM_Honda) from the lead position. The Finnish rider was not able to take the podium even after the privileged position he won in Genoa (Italy) in the first event in the World Championship.
The fastest in the training rounds and the first to win the qualifying heats was the British rider David Knight (KTM), who had no problem in placing the new KTM 350 in the 'pole’ of the final. The Spanish rider Alfredo Gómez (Husaberg) emerged as the night´s revelation, winning in the second. The current champion, Taddy Blazusiak also made his presence felt, winning the third and last qualifying heat and so joining the four best riders in the finals.
This was a hard blow for World Champions like Iván Cervantes (Gas Gas) and Juha Salminen (Husqvarna) who, because of different mechanical problems in the qualifying heats, could not participate in the finals, having to battle for one of the positions in the Last Chance rounds. Neither one managed to do this. Cervantes fell in the holeshot of his final and Salminen got caught up with another rider, losing the first position he had won after a not-so-good start. Those who did manage to get through to the finals were the new KTM rider, Cristóbal Guerrero, and another official rider from the Austrian manufacturer, the Italian rider Thomas Oldrati, thanks to his win in the Last Chance round.
1st Final
Second consecutive victory for Taddy Blazusiak, alter winning the last final in Genoa. But here he did it in a totally differently way from his first triumph in this 2011 championship. This time he swept to victory despite not starting well – the holeshot was for the British rider Johnny Walker (KTM), overtaking Knight immediately and taking first position, holding it right to the end, managing to gain on his rivals in each lap. Joakim Ljunggren (Husaberg) made good progress, recovering from a bad start, and soon managed to attain a comfortable advantage in the third position which he took crossing the finishing line. The surprise of the night was the young Spanish rider Alfredo Gómez (Husaberg), who finished fourth after coming back from seventh place. Dougie Lampkin, who was debuting with Gas Gas, suffered greatly in this first final, with a headache that made him “see double” from the third lap. The United States rider Cody Webb (Beta), finished a long way back, having got stuck on the first curve and then falling in the last stretch of the heat.
2nd final
The reverse grid enabled some riders like Xavi Galindo (Husaberg) or Xavi Leon (Gas Gas), who in the first part of the final were flirting with positions of honour. But this did not last long, because Taddy soon put things in place and took the lead in the final in the fifth of the seven laps of the race, overtaking Ljunggren, who had started well. No surprises in the end, and the only riders who managed to stay long in decent positions were Cristóbal Guerrero and Dani Gibert (Sherco), who finished in sixth and seventh positions respectively. Ahola once again had a lot of problems and lost a lot of points. Blazusiak had already won the lead in the championship.
3rd final
Holeshot for Knight and Ahola, but they soon gave up their positions to the Polish rider, who took the lead in the race before the first lap had finished. None of his rivals was able to put up any opposition, each lap opening more time against Knight, in second position, who could do nothing. From sixth place in the first laps of the race, Alfredo Gomez took third place, his best result so far this year. He managed to defend his position despite the attack made by Jarvis, who later ended up losing ground on becoming stuck in the stones. Mika Ahola, in fourth position, got the best result of his night, while Ljunggren, recovering from a long way behind, was able to finish fifth, granting him third position in the final count of the night. As so, as we said, the championship is now led by the Polish rider Blazusiak, seventeen points ahead of Ljunggren and 30() over Ahola. Gomez and Jarvis still have the chance to fight the Finnish rider for top position on the podium in the last championship event, to be held on the 5th March in the Estadio do Restelo in Lisbon (Portugal).
Taddy Blazusiak (Poland, KTM) “It´s a pleasure to be back in Barcelona and even better to win three finals. It´s been incredible. This has definitely been my best race and I didn´t make any mistakes. I hope the World Championship in Lisbon will be really exciting: I really want to ride as well as I did tonight.”
David Knight (GBR, KTM) "I´m really happy to have taken second place. Barcelona has been a difficult event, very physical and very competitive. Maybe I´d like to have raced faster, but that´s OK. I´m really pleased with the level here and my results in the Palau Sant Jordi with the new KTM 350. Even though I couldn´t get it to my liking, it´s clear that it has great potential. I´ve really enjoyed today.”
Joakim Ljunggren (Sweden, Husaberg) "In this championship, if you aren´t really fast, or make a mistake, you get stuck behind, and that´s exactly what happened to me in one of these heats. But I´m still very satisified with this third position in Barcelona, after winning second place in one of the finals. Having said that, you have to be very consistent and Taddy was really strong. But I still have a chance in Lisbon: I´ll fight”.
Results
1. Taddy Blazusiak, KTM - 60
2. David Knight, KTM - 48
3. Joakim Ljunggren, Husaberg - 41
4. Alfredo Gómez, Husaberg - 35
5. Graham Jarvis, Husaberg - 28
6. Cristóbal Guerrero, KTM - 26
7. Mika Ahola, HM-Honda - 22
8. Dougie Lampkin, Gas Gas - 18
9. Johnny Walker, KTM - 16
10. Dani Gibert, Sherco - 13
11 Thomas Oldrati, KTM - 13
12 Xavi León, Gas Gas - 12
13 Cody Webb, Beta - 11
14 Xavi Galindo, Husaberg - 8
Championship Standings
1. Taddy Blazusiak, KTM - 103
2. Joakim Ljunggren, Husaberg - 86
3. Mika Ahola, Honda - 73
4. Alfredo Gómez, Husaberg - 60
5. Graham Jarvisk,Husaberg - 57
6. Thomas Oldrati, KTM - 55
7. David Knight, KTM - 48
8. Dani Gibert, Sherco - 32
9. Cody Webb, Beta - 28
10. Cristóbal Guerrero, KTM - 26
11. Fabio Mossini, Beta - 19
12. Jéremy Joly, HM-Honda - 18
13. Xavi Galindo, Husaberg - 8
14. Fabien Planet, Sherco - 7
