All content © Bob MuIIins

KTM Clean Sweep: Cody Webb The New Leader!

The American rider, team-mate of the Round 1 victor Taddy BLAZUSIAK (POL-KTM), put on a spectacular show in an evening which was marred by the injury of Alfredo GOMEZ (ESP-HVA).

Cody WEBB Reminds Us Who's The Reigning Champion.

The Factory KTM rider leaves Germany at the top of the Maxxis FIM SuperEnduro World Championship standings. WEBB was untouchable in races 1 and 2, winning with relative ease in both these heats. He concluded a perfect weekend by taking 3rd place in the last race, a relaxed move which allowed him to romp home with the overall win on the night. The American won dominantly in Riesa last year, too, and seemed to stamp his authority once again when he took over the title lead. WEBB admitted to feeling very comfortable on this narrow track, despite initially raising concerns about the tight nature of the first turn. He won Round 2 ahead of BLAZUSIAK and Colton HAAKER (USA-HVA).

However, it wasn't all plain sailing for last year's champion; with his rivals desperate to hunt him down he was forced to push hard, especially in the reverse grid race where he rocketed to an early lead, requiring extreme levels of focus to keep his rhythm until the chequered flag. And in the 3rd and final race of this manic night in Riesa, Cody had to settle for 3rd place as Taddy BLAZUSIAK fought back for an authoritative race win.

At the end of the night an unflappable WEBB took a two-point lead in the title chase.

Dramatic Night For Husqvarna

Drama hit the Husqvarna Factory squad from the first corner of the first Prestige final…
Colton HAAKER (USA-HVA), who set the best time in the Akrapovic SuperPole, had a nasty crash along with with his friend and team-mate Alfredo GOMEZ (ESP-HVA). The Spaniard initially tried to get up but was clearly in severe pain, and the red flag was quickly flown. After a trip to hospital the unlucky Spaniard, who suffered a horrific knee injury last season, was diagnosed with a dislocated left elbow. The whole SuperEnduro family wishes Alfredo a speedy recovery, we hope to see him back on track soon!

The shock of GOMEZ's crash had far reaching consequences for all the riders, as they admitted they felt deflated and upset and struggled to get back into a racing rhythm. For team-mate HAAKER, the crash left him fired up and he tried to force blame onto BLAZUSIAK for the racing incident. Emotions and tensions therefore ran high into the Race 1 restart. HAAKER fought hard and managed 3rd despite another early off. Meanwhile WEBB and BLAZUSIAK placed ahead of the Husky rider.

Race 2 rewarded the passionate German fans with a very exciting battle between BLAZUSIAK and HAAKER, with the pair swopping positions multiple times and each making costly mistakes. This time around the American got the better of his Polish rival for 2nd behind WEBB.

Cristobal GUERRERO Makes A Comeback

The Spanish rider Cristobal GUERRERO (ESP-YAMAHA) returned to SuperEnduro competition in style. The Yamaha rider took three Top Five positions and displayed impressive race pace. He even ran at the front for some of the final race. Tonight's performance may well give GUERRERO a big confidence boost heading into his home round in Madrid later this month.

GALLAS & TARRES Waiting in the Wings

Home rider Kevin GALLAS (DEU-HVA) and Pol TARRES (ESP-HVA) showed great potential on the track at the Sachsen Arena. GALLAS, last year's Junior World Champion, and TARRES, a former trials rider, still have to raise the pace a bit more…
but we think it won't be too long until they're fighting for podiums.

JUNIOR: APOLLE Forces HOARE Into 2nd

After an extremely dominant victory for Britain's William HOARE in Poland, it was the turn of last year's European Champion, Tim APOLLE, to take the top spot. Boosted by the support of his fans, impressive APOLLE (GER-KTM) won 2 out of 3 races at his home GP. Despite a determined race 1 which saw him victorious, backed up by a 2nd and a 3rd place, HOARE (GBR-Husqvarna) had to relinquish the overall win to his German rival. However, the young Brit still leads the standings with 112 points, 27 ahead of APOLLE

The next round of the Maxxis FIM SuperEnduro World Championship will take place in Madrid's Caja Magica on January 26th.

They said:

Cody WEBB: "What happened to Alfredo tonight affect all of us. I'm always sad to see a friend leaving the track with the medics. As I'm concerned, it was a great night, I have taken all the opportunities that opened to me. I'm very pleased to take the lead of the championship for a few points. I'm very much looking forward to the next round in Madrid.”

Taddy BLAZUSIAK: "I felt really good tonight but I was really affected with what happened to alfredo, it took me a while to get back in the game in this race and same on the next one. Finally in the last I have put my head back together I have been able to ride like I like to do it. This championship is very tight, we still have a few races left but each point is going to count. I'm only 2 points behind Cody, everything is possible.”

Colton HAAKER: "Our goals are all the same we want to win races. So when you end up on a podium you are happy but you can't be totally satisfied. I'm third today, but you know those guys are good so you won't have much room left if you make a mistake. Taddy was really flying in this last race I could not control him. I'm very sad for alfredo I Wish him a speedy recovery so he can be with us back very soon.”

Prestige Class :

Heat 1 : 1. Cody WEBB ; 2. Taddy BLAZUSIAK ; 3. Colton HAAKER ; 4. Kevin GALLAS ; 5. Cristobal GUERRERO ; 6. Pol TARRES ; 7. David LEONOV ; 8. Jose Maria JUAN BERNABEU ; 9. Xavi LEON SOLE ; 10. Diogo VIEIRA…

Heat 2 : 1. Cody WEBB ; 2. Colton HAAKER ; 3. Taddy BLAZUSIAK ; 4. Cristobal GUERRERO ; 5. Pol TARRES ; 6. Blake GUTZEIT ; 7. Kevin GALLAS ; 8. Emil JUSZCZAK ; 9. Xavi LEON SOLE ; 10. Diogo VIEIRA…

Heat 3 : 1. Taddy BLAZUSIAK ; 2. Colton HAAKER ; 3. Cody WEBB ; 4. Pol TARRES ; 5. Cristobal GUERRERO ; 6. Kevin GALLAS ; 7. Emil JUSZCZAK ; 8. Blake GUTZEIT ; 9. Diogo VIEIRA ; 10. Xavi LEON SOLE…

Provisional Standing : 1. Cody WEBB 109pts ; 2. Taddy BLAZUSIAK 107pts ; 3. Colton HAAKER 101pts ; 4. Kevin GALLAS 58pts ; 5. Pol TARRES 56pts. 6. Alfredo GOMEZ 46pts ; 7. Diogo VIEIRA 43pts ; 8. Blake GUTZEIT 41pts ; 9. Cristobal GUERRERO 35pts ; 10. Xavi LEON SOLE 31pts…

Junior Class :

Heat 1 : 1. William HOARE ; 2. Tim APOLLE ; 3. Diego HERRERA ; 4. David CYPRIAN ; 5. Leon HENTSCHEL. 6. Oskar KACZMARCZYK. 7. Raul GUIMERA ; 8. Norbert JOSZA LEVENTE ; 9. Andris GRINFELDS ; 10. Enrico RINALDI…

Heat 2 : 1. Tim APOLLE ; 2. Leon HENTSCHEL ; 3. William HOARE ; 4. Diego HERRERA ; 5. Enrico RINALDI ; 6. Teodor KABAKCHIEV ; 7. Norbert JOSZA LEVENTE ; 8. David CYPRIAN ; 9. Dominik OLSZOWY ; 10. Luke WALKER…

Heat 3 : 1. Tim APOLLE ; 2. William HOARE ; 3. Diego HERRERA ; 4. Leon HENTSCHEL ; 5. Norbert JOSZA LEVENTE ; 6. Raul GUIMERA ; 7. Dominik OLSZOWY ; 8. Andris GRINFELDS ; 9. Luke WALKER ; 10. Enrico RINALDI…

Provisonal Standing : 1. William HOARE 112pts ; 2. Tim APOLLE 85pts ; 3. David CYPRIAN 73pts ; 4. Diego HERRERA 64pts ; 5. Norbert JOSZA LEVENTE 61pts ; 6. Leon HENTSCHEL 56pts ; 7. Dominik OLSZOWY 46pts ; 8. Teodor KABAKCHIEV 32pts ; 9. Ivan PUEYO GIL 30pts ; 10. Dan MUNDELL 28pts…
Cody Webb (USA - KTM)