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Webb Wins In Germany

KTM's Cody Webb secured his second overall victory in the 2015/16 Maxxis FIM SuperEnduro World Championship in Riesa. Germany. The course was technically  demanding and success depended on consistency - mostly the consistency of the soft sand,

Colton Haaker laid down an early marker in Prestige Group A free practice leading Cody Webb and Taylor Robert. Sweden's Andreas Linusson topped the Prestige Group B grid ahead of Eloi Salsench and Kornel Nemeth. In the Prestige Timed Practice the top 8 were 1. Haaker, 2. Blazusiak, 3. Walker, 4. Webb, 5, Tremaine, 6. Robert, 7. Linusson. 8. Bolton. Haaker also took the Akrapovic Superpole ahead of Taddy Blazusiak with Cody Webb in 3rd. Jonny Walker had a poor start to the evening and he finished last.

The first Prestrige final was a crashfest with Colton Haaker and Taddy Blazusiak battling hard but going down in the soft sand and allowing Cody Webb to take the win. Haaker was 2nd and Taddy was 3rd. Jonny Walker was 4th. Paul Bolton challenged for the early lead with Taylor Robert but he missed a gear on the 3rd lap and undershot a big jump resulting in a big crash. Always a tough competitor, Paul carried on but his injuries put pay to his night.

Alfredo Gomez took full advantage of the reverse start to put it all together and win the 2nd final from a rapidly closing Cody Webb and Jonny Walker. Walker improved all night and inevitably won the 3rd final but it was not enough as Cody Webb clinched the overall win by one point. Colton Haaker in 3rd recorded his first SuperEnduro podium finish.

"I'm super happy to come away with the win tonight,” said Webb. "Two overall victories from two starts is a perfect start to the championship for me. The track was tough tonight. There was no real room for error and it was a fine line between staying up and crashing. In race one I just sort of rode steady and the win came to me. I got up to second in race two and almost got Alfredo for the win but had to settle for second. Then race three I finally had some bad luck, and ended fifth I think. But thankfully it was enough for the top step of the podium.”

After an eventful night Jonny Walker said "It's been a hard night but I'm happy with second, The racing was so close, everyone was on the limit out there. I had a good first race going but tangled with a lapped rider in the log pit and he ended up standing on my bike. It was a freak thing but cost me a chance of winning there. I was riding good in race two and then gave it everything in race three. It felt great to get the win in that one and to end the night one point behind Cody is a bonus really. After two rounds we're separated by two points so it's still very close.”.

Colton Haaker: “It was the little things that kept me away from the overall victory. I only lost by three points again. But I’m always happy when I’m riding that well. A podium finish isn’t bad. I was fast in both practices and won the Superpole. The key in the races was to avoid mistakes and keep it on two wheels. I think I should have won race one if I didn’t fall three times. Then the next race I fell twice and the last race I fell again at the first turn. Some sections of the track like the sand pit were tricky. Everybody has stepped up their game this year. I just have to minimise these bad races. I’m looking forward to the rest of the series and especially the South American rounds of the championship. They’re back to back and I’m better when I have races in a row.”

Taddy Blazusiak: “My speed was good, I feel like I’m riding good too, I just ran out of luck a couple of times and that cost me. It felt good to lead race one, I needed that, but then I crashed and lost it. It was a hard track tonight. There was no room for error and all the guys were pushing hard. Some mistakes were your own and others weren’t. That’s just kind of the way it went really.”

Alfredo Gomez: “I’m happy with how thing went. It was great to win race two. I led from start to finish so it shows just how important a good start is out there.”

Mario Roman: “It was a good night and I’m happy. I wasn’t feeling that good at round one so I changed my training schedule and made some good progress. I tried to do my best here in Germany without thinking about the other riders. The first two races went really good for me. I managed to stay close to the top guys and got a fifth and a fourth place. Then in the last race I crashed once and lost some places. I’m really happy with the new team and my bike. I’ve put some time training with my race bike after Poland and I’m feeling a lot better now. I’ll keep on working hard and try to improve on my results in the following rounds.”

The Juniors were dominated by Manuel Lettenbichler on home ground. He led in Free Practice from South Africa's Blake Gutzeit and Gethin Humphreys in 3rd. Josh Gotts was 4th. Lee Sealey 7th and William Hoare 11th. In Timed Practice Blake clocked up a flyer on his first on his first lap, Lettenbichler was 2nd and Humphreys was 3rd. Lettenbichler won the first final. Blake Gutzeit was 2nd, Luís Oliveira 3rd, Josh Gotts 4th, Gethin Humphreys 6th, William Hoare 9th and Lee Sealey 11th. Sealey was hoping for better and he showed what he was capable of with a 2nd in the 2nd Final behind Lettebichler. Luís Oliveira was 3rd. Lettenbichler completed his hattrick with a 3rd win in the final race. Blake Gutzeit was 2nd and Luis Oliveira was 3rd overall. Gethin Humphreys finished 6th, Lee Sealey 7th, William Hoare 8th and Josh Gotts 9th.

"Three wins in front of my home crowd is just perfect,” said Lettenbichler. "It was a great night, I'm so happy with how things went. I just want to keep thing winning momentum going now for as long as possible.”

Mike Hartmann won the National Class.

The Maxxis FIM SuperEnduro World Championship continues with round three in Villa Gesell, Argentina on February 20.