 
The Basque Show
We witnessed another great night of SuperEnduro last Saturday at the Bizkaia
Arena in Bilbao, which culminated in a shake-up for the Prestige class. Let's
look back at the highlights of this 4th round of the season…
Official Visit
On the occasion of the second Euskadi GP in the history of the SuperEnduro World
Championship, we had the honour of welcoming the CEO of the International
Motorcycling Federation (FIM): Mr Steve AESCHLIMANN! At his very first visit to
a SEWC event, Mr AESCHLIMANN was able to take the time to speak with all the
riders in the discipline, meet his FIM delegates, the promoter, and the team
managers. He also handed the winner's trophy to Taddy BLAZUSIAK (PL - KTM) at
the end of the night...
The Marseillaise Plays!
 Never
before in SuperEnduro have we had the opportunity to hear the Marseillaise on a
podium. Previous SEWC star Mathias BELLINO (F), despite winning a few heats in
the past, never got to hear the French National Anthem. But now, thanks to
Adrien JACON's seriously good form (F - KTM) in the European class, history has
been made! The protégé of Pierre-Marie CASTELLA and Fred WEILL won out in his
duels with the two title contenders: Tim APOLLE (D - Husqvarna) and Andris
GRINFELDS (LET - KTM). The Latvian and Frenchman are 15 and 16 points behind the
German respectively, and everything remains to be decided at the final round in
Sweden on March 31!
Tenacious Taddy!
After his shocking crash in Malaga, everyone hoped that Taddy BLAZUSIAK (PL -
KTM) would be 100% fit to fight in Bilbao. But it was revealed that the Pole
suffered an infection in his elbow following the off. After the first race,
where he snatched second place, he admitted: "I'm lacking juice! This
infection has tired me out and today I'm not 100%, I can't find my usual fire
and I'm losing energy fast!” Despite that, and after finishing second in the
first two races of the night, the six-time World Champion took full advantage of
Cody WEBB's (USA - KTM) recurring falls in the third race to impressively win
his second GP of the season and get closer to the top of the rankings. This
means we'll be promised a crazy finale at the Sparbanken Arena in Lidköping
(Sweden) on March 31st!
Sponsor's Visit
After Martin WABNEGGER's visit to Malaga for Motorex and Ashkan AGHILI for 24MX,
in Bilbao the FIM Maxxis SuperEnduro World Championship hosted a representative
from one of its most loyal sponsors: Scott Sports. Indeed, Marco GALLI was
present in the Bizkaia Arena to experience the evening of madness. The Italian
admitted to being a big fan of the discipline which combines pure sport and
spectacular show!
Top Organisation
 Close
collaborators with ABC Communication for two years, with the organisation of an
EnduroGP round in 2016 and a round of SuperEnduro in 2017, the Idubaltza Kirol
Kluba chaired by Imanol TARRAMONA have once again demonstrated great
professionalism. Composed mostly of young people between the ages of 25 and 35,
this Moto Club is a real example of seriousness and dynamism for many clubs. All
their efforts were rewarded as they built on the success they achieved last
season. Congratulations to Imanol, Alvaro BASARETE and the whole team from
Idubaltza Kirol Kluba!
Press Conference
What better backdrop for a Press Conference than the Bilbao City Hall with the
Guggenheim Museum just steps away? Alvaro BASARETE and the Moto Club Press
Officer, Javier ALONSO, invited the local press and Basque TV Euskal Telebista (ETB)
to this special conference, attended by Cody WEBB, David KNIGHT (GB - Gas Gas),
Cristobal GUERRERO (E - Yamaha) and Benjamin HERRERA (CL - TM). As well as
Bastien BLANCHARD (ABC Communication) and Pedro MARIANO (FIM)...
Lesson in Courage
 For
three weeks already, the Spanish rider Ignacio FERNANDEZ (KTM) has had two
fractured metacarpi his right hand. This means that for the last two rounds,
"Nachette" has ridden with pins in his hand. A fine example of courage
and strength comes from the 23-year-old hopeful, who still did well with
"only one hand”: 7th in Malaga and 6th in Bilbao. Well known in Spain for
his popular Vlogs, we invite you to check out his videos from Malaga and Bilbao
on his YouTube channel, the suffering which FERNANDEZ has endured will be
clear...
All's well that ends well…
It goes without saying that the third race of the evening in Bilbao was a real
ordeal for the current leader of the Prestige category, Cody WEBB. The American
dropped his bike 5 times during this one race (including three times in one lap)
and one of his crashes saw his KTM hit a marshal... In the heat of the race for
the title, and seeing the young volunteer moving and assisted by medics, WEBB
resumed the race. He then went to check on the marshal, named Goiuri, as soon as
the race was over. Just two days later, the pair found themselves at the KTM
tests taking place near Bilbao and Cody WEBB, who once again apologised for the
collision, also offered her his signed jersey. For her part, the young woman was
anxious to reassure the Champion and the SuperEnduro community on social media,
stating: "I'm fine! The collision with the bike was less brutal than it
seemed... I got out with only a few scratches on my arm. I fully understand that
Cody, in the heat of the moment, did not want to stop. But at the end of his
race, he immediately came to see me for news of my health. I want to
congratulate Cody on his 3rd place!”
A great example of sportsmanship shining through despite the scary experience
for both parties.
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