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enduro
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Erzberg |
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 Taddy
Blazusiak undisputed King of Erzberg
On the eve of the Red Bull Hare Scramble at the 2008 Erzberg Rodeo, experts predicted that no rider would master the Iron Mountain in less than two hours. KTM factory rider Taddy Blazusiak charged through the checkered flag in 1:20.132. The Polish rider who won the event and a factory ride in extreme Enduro events for the Austrian sports motorcycle manufacturer in 2007, left no doubt about his shooting star role. He has taken to top level competition like a duck to water. Taddy not only won the 2008 event, he did it in seemingly effortless style and passed through the victory arch on the top of the mountain almost 15 minutes in front of his nearest rival, German rider Andreas Lettenbichler. Popular victory Blazusiak's victory through the 16 control points of the massive mountain slope, terraced through hundred of years of iron ore mining was enthusiastically celebrated by the thousands of fans who came to Austria for the event. Particularly vocal were the large numbers of fans from his home country Poland who travelled south to watch him master what is considered to be the toughest one day competition on the extreme Enduro racing calendar. Supercross winner Taddy had warmed up for the challenge on Saturday with a victory in the super final of the Rodeo-X Supercross then on Sunday, 500 enthusiasts from 32 different countries were on the starting line for the Hare Scramble. They ranged from fully fledged factory riders to enthusiastic amateurs and it was the German Lettenbichler who won the start and held onto the lead for the first 20 minutes before he was overtaken by the 25-year-old Pole. From that point on it was never in doubt that Blazusiak would capture the glory. Fourth for KTM's Despres Dakar winner and KTM factory rider Cyril Despres of France was fourth this year while two other KTM riders from the USA, Kyle Redmond and Geoff Aaron came in at fifth and sixth. The results list continued to underline the supremacy and tenaciousness of the orange machines from KTM. The 2008 Hare Scramble, the fourteenth annual race, wrapped up four days of riding and events at the annual Erzberg Rodeo and was this year held in perfect weather. Taddy Blazusiak: “It’s great to have won at Erzberg again. It was a lot harder for me this year because the track was harder, the other riders were faster and I was expected to win. Last year no one really knew who I was. “I got a bad start, which made things difficult for me in the early stages of the race. I thought my bike had started but it took several kicks before I was going, by that point I was behind and in the dust of the other riders. I bumped my way past a few riders in the first two corners and then almost failed to get to the top of the first hill because I lost all my speed at the bottom of the climb. I rode like a mad man for a while then, to make sure I didn’t lose too much distance to the leaders. I had a few close moments. “I crashed into some tree at the bottom of the first downhill, and was about fourth or fifth at that point. Not long after that I past Cyril Despres and Juha Salminen and started to close in on the leader, Andreas Lettenbichler. Andi was riding well so it took me a little while to pass him but once I did I pushed really hard to pull away. Last year I was able to take it easy between the difficult sections but this year I was racing at motocross pace everywhere, which was tiring. “When I knew I was four or five minutes ahead I started to think about taking things carefully. It’s so easy to damage your bike so I was picking my lines through the really rocky sections of the track. I’m really, really thrilled to have won.” Results Red Bull Hare Scramble 1. Taddy Blazusiak, Poland, KTM 1:20:13 2. Andreas Lettenbichler, Germany, BMW, 1:35:58 3. Paul Bolton, UK, Honda, 1:38:03 4. Cyril Despres, France, KTM, 1:38:22 5. Kyle Redmond, USA, KTM, 1:42:19 6. Geoff Aaron USA, KTM, 1:45:32 7. Gerhard Forster, Germany, BMW, 1:46:15 8. Chris Birch, New Zealand, KTM, 1:47:35 9. Juha Salminen, Finland, KTM, 1:51:19 10. Mark Jackson, UK, KTM, 2:04:45
Taddy & Tom's Erzberg Red Bull Rodeo Tom Sagar made a very worthwhile trip to Austria to impress in front of a large international crowd at this year's Erzberg Rodeo, with several big names on the entry list top ten results would have been good at this first appearance at the Erzberg mountain. D3-Racing has a good track record at this event, twice winning before with David Knight so we know what to expect and how to prepare, Tom listened well and took advice from seasoned professionals like Juha Salminen. Over 1100 riders try to qualify for this race via the prolog, a 10 mile race up the mountain's roads averaging around 60mph!, each driver has 2 attempts and the fastest run counts. Tom's best time was 26th which was good enough for a front row start in the top 50 for Sundays Red Bull Hare Scramble with 500 starters.
Paul Edmondson and the Maximum Solution Suzuki team last week made the last minute decision to attend the Erzberg Rodeo. Set deep in the Eisener Alps the setting for this annual event is quite simply stunning; snow capped mountains, green Alpine valleys, turquoise rivers and lakes and in the centre of it all The Iron Giant. So called because of the iron rich rock in the area this huge mountain has been sculpted by miners to feed industry and create Off Road Heaven. Spread over four days and with courses ranging from easy to impossibly difficult there's something for everyone and every level of rider. Thursday's Kings Race is a 10Km race up the service tracks (like British fire roads) for big twin trailies. Run over two heats (with the fastest single run to count) the line up ranged from full factory bikes and riders through to one intrepid explorer on a 1970s Honda CB750 with a set of Renthals and knobbly tyres. Friday and Saturday are the Prologue races, run over the same course as the Kings Race. Each rider looking to qualify for Sunday's main event must complete a timed run up the mountain on each day; the runs must be within 30 seconds of each other (or penalties are applied) and the single fastest run is taken as the qualifying time for grid position. On Thursday a number of riders had fitted GPS systems to their bikes and the highest recorded speed on the straights was 185Kmh - clearly power and top speed was going to be important. Jetting and gearing set up had proven to be a challenge for pretty much everyone (even the massive "orange army") and the relative (compared to 450 4 strokes) power and RPM disadvantage of the 2 Stroke RM250 was a worry as a top 50 prologue place was needed to get a front row position on Sunday. Working on a number or different settings the decision was to run the RM250 on near standard gearing for Friday's Prologue and then, if some further testing could be completed, gear it to the moon for Saturday. When the Prologue times were released the team was pleased to see that Paul had taken the RM250 up the hill in 8th place (and 2nd 2 stroke). With his qualifying position safe the team made slight jetting and suspension changes, fitted the RM250 with 14/44 gearing and waited for Saturday's run. The team knew that the altitude towards the end of the run was going to be a problem but the RM's stability and the K-Tech suspension's ability to put the power on the ground allowed Paul to carry the higher speed of the raised gearing and he bettered his time by 17 seconds and placed 6th fastest - with a time only 19seconds slower than the winning Kings Race rider. The RM was then returned to standard gearing, given a new rear tyre, air filter and its race day numbers and parked up for the night ready for Sunday's Red Bull Hare Scramble. Paul had qualified 2nd fastest for Saturday night's Enduro Cross and the spare bike was wheeled to the line for this demonstration race. The fastest 5 Pro riders would chase the fastest 5 Amateurs for 10 minutes around the superb arena course of tyres, logs, rocks, water splashes and killer hills. The race started well but when he tangled with an amateur and hit the floor Paul restarted dead last. Working his way back through, and lapping faster than the other riders he made steady progress through the field to finish 4th at the flag. In keeping with the race's demonstration status Paul raised the biggest cheers from the huge crowd as he jumped up the hill which had caused so many other riders so many problems. The Red Bull Hare Scramble is the main event. The top 500 qualifiers line up - in rows of 50 and, from a dead engine start, set off to challenge what is probably the most difficult and demanding off road race in the world.
When the flag dropped and the riders exited the first corner Paul and the Maximum Solutions RM250 were at the front - only to be quickly passed by a "creative" piece of riding by Austrian pro Werner Muller. Paul and Muller then began to pull a lead as the field climbed the huge hills out of the quarry. Following an Austrian in Austria seemed to be a shrewd thing to do and as Muller's pace was good Paul let him lead through the early stages of the race. Unfortunately, even locals can miss a route marker in the dust and when Werner stopped and threw his arms in the air Paul realised they were way off the course. As they rejoined the race, back where they'd left it, they were almost four minutes adrift of the leading riders. As the race got tougher Paul worked his way through the pack and entered the infamous Karl's Diner in around 7th position - this is the last place on the course where outside assistance is allowed. Traditionally known as the toughest place in the world to be on an off road bike the Diner was this year upstaged by The Roof of Africa. It was here that the trials riders came into their own and although himself a pretty good trials rider Paul had no answer to the three exceptional trials men who finished in the top 5. To those at the finish it was clear that the Iron Giant had proven too much for the vast majority of those brave enough to take it on. Paul arrived in 5th place, only just behind extreme event specialist Wayne Braybrook and current WEC leader Juha Salminen and a little way down on the trials specialists Tom Sagar and Taddy Bzazusiak. 'That was the toughest thing I've done in a very long time, maybe ever' was Paul's first comment but the elation of finishing the world's toughest race was clear. Although Paul had no answer to the specialist Trials riders the Suzuki RM250 performed faultlessly and arrived at the finish not only intact but almost undamaged.
· Karl Katoch and Martin Kettner- for their dedication and organisation to provide what is unquestionably The Off Road Event. · The British fans - for their support and assistance. · Suzuki - for building the RM250. · K-Tech - for providing suspension subtle enough to work over the roots and rocks yet progressive enough to soak up the high speed jumps and hits. · DEP Pipes - for providing a system which works well, survives the rocks and looks great. · Renthal - for providing their almost indestructible Twin Wall handlebars and sprockets and for Grips which allowed Paul to ride without discomfort. · Michelin Tyres - for providing the MS Front and Comp IV rear tyres and the essential Bib Mousses. · Putoline Oils - for providing oils and lubricants which allowed the bike to run cleanly. · CORE - for providing the braking power to allow the high speed runs up the mountain and the subtlety in the woods and rocks. · MXM - for providing their smart and tough graphics. · MRS/Gaerne - for providing the comfortable and protective boots. · Smith Goggles - for allowing Paul to see in the dust. · WOR Events - for the loan of the camper. Finally, we would like to say a huge Well Done to Tom Sagar for putting the UK on the podium (and for entertaining everyone with his celebration dance) and to Julian Stevens for giving Tom the guidance, support and opportunity to race against and beat the world's best riders. Braybrook 4th Wayne Braybrook, Team GAS GAS UK has just finished 4th at the infamous Erberg Enduro yesterday... www.erzbergrodeo.at After the two qualifying prologue runs, Wayne did enough to start on the front row. Wayne went to Erzburg for one reason....to win!, so hes obviously disappointed to finish 4th. Nevertheless with this first time experience i'm sure he'll been keen to return next year now that he knows the race etc. As in all forms of racing the start is crucial especially when the venue is a dust bowl like yesterday. Wayne had a bad start (Top 20'ish) and was riding totally blind for parts of the course trying not to lose too much ground on the leaders which were gone... Then after about 15 minutes his chain came off, got wrapped around the front sprocket which cost him approx 5 mins to get untangled... With the race being around 1h 30mins for the the winner, there's no way this gap could be closed so Wayne battled on with a badly clogged air-filter to finish as high as he could and just passed Eddy in the final stages to finish a creditable 4th... Report by Shirty
Red Bull Hare Scramble KTM scooped all podium places at Erzberg on Sunday in what is considered to be one of the most extreme tests for man and machine, the Red Bull Hare Scramble for single cylinder machines held on Austria's Iron Mountain. Polish rider Tadeuz Blazusiak set himself up for a good race when the Austrian manufacturer offered him a KTM 250 EXC to ride in Saturday night's Enduro Cross show race. His good result in that event gave him a wild card for a front row start in Sunday's Hare Scramble and the 24-year-old professional Enduro rider capitalized on the opportunity in the best possible way. He won the race with style and finesse, with a comfortable lead of around six minutes. Tom Sager of Britain was second on his KTM 250 EXC and runaway championship leader in the 2007 Enduro E1 class world championship Finland's Juha Salminen was third. Salminen was onboard the brand new 2008 KTM 300 EXC-E machine, the first time it has been ridden. "This is unbelievable for me," Blazusiak said after the race, which he completed in one hour 29 minutes and 48 seconds. "This is my first time at Erzberg and right from the first very rocky section it all went without any problems." The character of the race and the enormously difficult terrain, cut out of the former open cut iron ore mine on the side of this Austrian mountain makes it very rare for a rider to have such a smooth run. The result is therefore a particular tribute to the skills of the Polish rider who dominated the race once he had secured the lead. KTM rally factory rider Cyril Despres was less fortunate. He was in third place when a damaged tyre forced his retirement. Young 18-year-old American rider Kyle Redmond finished in ninth place on his KTM 250 EXC in his first ever Erzberg competition, coming in just behind KTM Enduro E3 factory rider, Marko Tarkkala of Finland. German privateer Ralf Scheidhauer also put in a good race in the big field of starters and finished in tenth place on his KTM 250 EXC. Riders had to contend with hot, dusty and very tough conditions for the race, with the skies opening in a major thunder storm after the leading riders were safely home. All in all, KTM riders took six of the top 10 places in this gruelling race to wrap up a near perfect weekend. On Thursday KTM riders took four of the top five places in the 2-cylinder event on the Iron Mountain. Results Hare Scramble 1. Tadeuz Blazusiak, Poland, KTM, 1 hour 29 minutes 48 seconds 2. Tom Sager, Britain, KTM, 1:35.36 3. Juha Salminen, Finland, KTM, 1:42.45 4. Wayne Braybrook, Britain, GasGas, 1:47.10 5. Paul Edmondson, Britain, Suzuki, 1:47.54 6. Gerhard Forster, Germany, Beta, 1:48.47 7. Paul Bolton, Britain, Honda,1:57.05 8. Marko Tarkkala, Finland, KTM 2:03.50 9. Kyle Redmond, USA, KTM, 2:09.49 10. Ralf Scheidhauer, Germany, KTM, 2:11.20
BMW Motorrad Motorsport factory rider Simo Kirssi claimed his second twin-cylinder class victory in three years at the Erzbergrodeo event staged in Eisenerz, Austria, where the Finn posted the fasted time of this year’s event on his second run up the ‘Iron Mountain’. Competing for the BMW Motorrad Motorsport team along with US racers, and Erzberg first timers, Micky Dymond, Gary Trachy and Greg Tracy and experienced Erzberg racer Chris Pfeiffer from Germany, Simo saved his best for the second of his two runs and posted a time four second faster than that of his closest competitor, defending twin-cylinder class champion David Knight. With the 13.5 kilometre course not quite as fast and flowing as in previous years, a result of the organising team adding several chicanes in order to make the high-speed race a little safer, Simo’s first run didn’t go exactly as planned. Mysteriously Simo was unable to change gear at high rpm soon after leaving the start ramp and although the problem sorted itself out soon after he then proceeded to ride a little ‘too hard’. Running too deep into a number of corners, Simo struggled to find his rhythm and as a result finished eight seconds behind David Knight, yet still in second place, at the end his first run. For his second run Simo opted to use a different engine setup and chose to compete with the motor he has previously used for cross-country racing. Giving the Finn a little more bottom-end power, as well as a closer ratio gearbox, Simo was able to get better traction on the dry, dusty and slippery course and set about posting the fastest time of the event. Well aware that he could ill afford any mistakes on his final run Simo rode much more consistently than he had on his first assault on the mountain and making no mistakes reached the top of the mountain in a time of 9:02.93. In doing so he claimed victory in the Erzberg twin-cylinder class for the second time in three years, much to his and the BMW Motorrad Motorsport team’s delight. Of the remaining members of the BMW Motorrad Motorsport team it was former AMA motocross and supermoto champion Micky Dymond that performed best finishing in a highly creditable sixth position. Having never competed at Erzberg before Micky, like the majority of riders, posted his best time on his second run up the mountain. Finishing just over one second behind ’06 Dakar Rally winner Marc Coma from Spain who placed fifth, Micky performed extremely well despite being an Erzberg ‘first timer’. Recording a time of 9:31.71 Dymond got to spend valuable time aboard BMW’s HP2 ahead of the Pike’s Peak race, which will be held in Colorado, USA in July. Behind Dymond stunt riding world champion Chris Pfeiffer claimed seventh, eight seconds behind his US teammate. With Greg Tracy placing eighth, Gary Trachy finished in 15th. Running into troubles on his first timed run Gary’s only recorded time was his second run, which would have been good enough to place him in ninth. Disappointingly, the fact that Gary failed to finish his first run resulted in the organisers adding 30 seconds to his time. Simo Kirssi: “It’s great to have won the twin-cylinder class again. The course rode very different to last year, because some changes had been made and because the weather was different. The track was a little slower this year because of the areas where they’d made the course a bit safer. “The first run didn’t go so well for me. I had a problem shifting gears soon after the start, and then I was riding a little bit too stiff and made some stupid mistakes like running too deep into some of the corners. I always find the first run dif- ficult. “My second run was really good though. I was using a different bike, which had a slightly different engine. I used the bike I use when I race the HP2 in cross-country races – it doesn’t have quite as much top-end power but it has really strong and smooth bottom-end power. It worked really well for me. I was more consistent and didn’t really make any mistakes. I guess you could say I rode with my head a little more than on the first run.” Mickey Dymond: “It was definitely a great experience. I wish I could go back and do a couple more runs up the mountain now because I learned a lot in my two runs. It’s hard turning up at Erzberg for the first time and being timed up the mountain straight away. But I had a great time. “The first section of the track was a little more like enduro than I’m used to with some narrow sections, rocks and even some water on the course. It seems a pretty cool event though. “The whole course was really slippery and I was looking for traction, but there wasn’t any. For me the most important thing was just getting more time on the BMW HP2. I’ve not had a whole lot of time on it and it is different to what I had been used to racing. It’s a really valuable test for me on the bike ahead of this year’s Pike’s Peak race.” Kings Class 1. Simo Kirssi 09:02,93, BMW Motorrad Motorsport 2. David Knight 09:06,8, KTM 4. Giovanni Sala 09:21,27, KTM 5. Marc Coma 09:29,5, KTM 6. Mickey Dymond 09:31,71, BMW Motorrad Motorsport 7. Chris Pfeiffer 09:39,05, BMW Motorrad Motorsport 8. Greg Tracy 09:42,09, BMW Motorrad Motorsport 9. Klaus Martinjak 09:49,96, Aprilia 10. Peter Bachler 09:57,72, Aprilia 15. Gery Tracy 10:19,27, BMW Motorrad Motorsport Title holder David Knight came, saw and almost conquered the unique twin cylinder Premier Class race at Erzberg on Thursday, finishing second in the opening event of the Erzberg Rodeo The reigning World Enduro Champion from the Isle of Man rode his KTM 950 Super Enduro R to a clear eight seconds advantage to lead in the first lap but was deprived of victory when Simo Kirssi of Finland was two seconds faster in the second lap over the Iron Mountain. The rules of this distinctive event define the winner not as the rider with the fastest aggregate time over two laps but instead the title goes to the one who puts in the fastest single lap. "Knighter" had flown in specifically for the race on Thursday and immediately leaves to return to continue competing in the Grand National Cross country (GNCC) in the USA, where he is currently second in the standings. "I could have been faster in the second lap but I made a small mistake at the exit of one of the corners and that cost me a couple of seconds," David Knight said after the race. "All in all I am still quite happy with the result because I didn't have any chance to practice and conditions were quite slippery so I rode rather cautiously." Austrian Werner Müller (KTM) was third and KTM factory rally team members Giovanni Sala of Italy and Spaniard Marc Coma were fourth and fifth. Overall four of the top five riders were onboard the KTM Super Enduro 950 R, a tribute to the power and performance of the machine, which more than proved itself over this extremely tough terrain.
The premier class race was the opening event at the Erzberg Rodeo. Known for being one of the most challenging rides for motorcycle enthusiasts, the event draws a huge crowd to Erzberg (Iron Mountain) for a long weekend of events that culminates in the Red Bull Hare Scramble on Sunday. Results 1. Simo Kirssi, Finland, BMW, 9:02.93 2. David Knight, Britain, KTM, 9:06.80 3. Werner Müller, Austria, KTM, 9:14.45 4. Giovanni Sala, Italy, KTM, 9:21.27 5. Marc Coma, Spain, KTM , 9:29.50
KTM Enduro Factory Team Farioli rider David Knight became the first rider ever to win both the twin-cylinder class and the Red Bull Hare Scramble race at the Erzberg Rodeo when he claimed victory in both events during the ’06 edition of the event. Finishing two seconds ahead of Finn Simo Kirssi in the twin-cylinder race board a KTM 950 Super Enduro R David then placed nine minutes ahead of Andreas Lettenbichler in the Hare Scramble event on his KTM 300 EXC. In the twin-cylinder class David got to ride the factory KTM 950 for the very first time during the first of his two timed runs up the iron mountain and gelled perfectly with the bike from the first moment he through his leg over it. Having spent much of the day prior to the race familiarising himself with a production version of the 950 Super Enduro R, David posted a time of 8:52.27, which proved to be the fastest of any rider. On his second run David recorded a time some four seconds slower but claimed a well deserved and highly important win for both himself and KTM. Conditions changed dramatically during the days after the twin-cylinder race as clear skies and warm temperatures turned to wind and rain just before the start of the Red Bull Hare Scramble event. Determined to win and defend his title Knight started well and scaled the second hill of the event just meters behind early leader Werner Muller. Then having to attack the third hill twice Knighter dropped back to around 20th position but quickly moved himself into the top 10 and as the event got more and more technical. Just 15 minutes into the event David hit the front, where he continued to make light work of the slippery conditions, and claimed the win in a time of 1:17.33.
“My first run went well. I set off steadily because the first part of the course was pretty dangerous in places and you had to be very precise. I built my speed then, got some good lines, and had a good run up the mountain. I caught a few slower riders but I don’t think I could have gone much quicker. “I was starting in among slower riders on my second run because I was sharing the bike Giovanni Sala was riding so I had to wait for him to finish before I could start. I made sure that I left a big gap between myself and the rider in front and didn’t catch them until right at the end of the course. I really enjoyed the second run, maybe a little bit too much because I was just having fun, waving at spectators and drifting in and out of the corners. I got some parts of the track better and on some bits I was slower but to beat everyone on my first time on a twin here is great. The 950 Super Enduro R was great fun to race and winning shows just how good the bike is.” “Winning the Red Bull Hare Scramble as well as the twin-cylinder race has made it the perfect weekend at Erzberg for me. I was a lot more confident going into this year’s event because I knew what to expect and the race went really well. I missed the jump at the start because another rider started his bike too early and I looked across to see what was happening. I still managed to get a good start though, which was good. I got roosted with rocks by Werner Muller on the second hill so I went wide on the third hill, hit a hole, lost all my speed and had to go back to the bottom again to get another run at it. “I managed to get back passed a load of the riders that had passed me without too many problems and then got roosted with rocks by Giovanni Sala on the 950. I got told then that I was in third so I settled down a bit then. I knew that Travis Pastrana was ahead of me but I passed him when he got stuck on some rocks. I only had Muller to get passed then and I was shouting and shouting at him to let me passed because his bike was just firing rocks at me all the time. “Once I got passed I had no problems at all and just tried my best not to damage the bike. I got told that I had a good lead so I just rode steadily to the finish. It was definitely easier than last year’s race but I enjoyed it much more as well. “Winning both classes was what I wanted to do but winning the twin class having not seen the bike until my first run up the mountain was great. I’m just pleased to have been able to defend my Hare Scramble title and make it a great weekend for KTM.” Results: Erzberg Rodeo, twin-cylinder class David Knight (KTM 950 Super Enduro R) 8:52.27 Simo Kirssi (BMW) 8:54.21 Cyril Despres (KTM 950 Super Enduro R) 9:02.38 Giovanni Sala (KTM 950 Super Enduro R) 9:08.26 Chris Pfeiffer (BMW) 9:17.9 Jimmy Lewis (BMW) 9:20.13 Klaus Martinjak (Aprilia) 9:39.56 Gerhard Forster (BMW) 9:54.19 Results: Erzberg Rodeo, Red Bull Hare Scramble David Knight (KTM 300EXC) 1:17.33 Andreas Lettenbichler (Gas Gas) 1:26.21 Cyril Despres (KTM EXC250) 1:27.33 Graham Jarvis (Sherco) 1:28.49 Daryl Curtis (KTM) 1:36.20 Bartosz Oblucki (Husqvarna) 1:44.40 Chris Pfeiffer (Gas Gas) 1:46.40 Gregory Eyries (Yamaha) 1:47.55
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For
Saturday a new race was introduced to this festival, an outdoor
Endurocross, a small track comprising of several rock and log sections,
big lorry tyre's and a sandy hill climb, very much a track to suit trials
riders. 10 riders qualified for this, the fastest 5 amateurs and the top 5
pro's starting in 2 rows with Amateurs having a 10 second head start. Of
the pro's Fast Eddy quickly took the lead but tangled with an amateur in a
tyre section so Tom charged through and took the lead through to the
finish, never making a mistake. Following closely was Polish world trials
ace Taddy Blazusiak who showed amazing skills riding a KTM for the 1st
time. These two former European trials contenders entertained the crowd
for 8 laps and showed that for Sunday's race they must be considered as
serious challengers now.
The
main event of this amazing festival is the Erzberg Hare Scramble on Sunday
starting at 12.00pm in temperatures exceeding 35 degrees and nearly 40
km's of the hardest trails on this mountain. 10 rows of 50 riders starting
at minute intervals, once again Fast Eddy took the holeshot with Werner
Muller following close, race Favorite Salminen was last away and Tom made
a mid pack start and had work to do. The first 5km's are very fast with
lots of dust & big quarry hill climbs, not easy to pass other riders
especially as at the start the big 4 strokes have an advantage of power,
Tom riding a 250EXC 2 stroke started very aggressively and quickly moved
inside the top 10 and once they arrived in the more technical sections he
then moved into the lead just before the railway line. A small problem on
a steep section when the bike behaved strange as if choked and the trials
ace Taddy Blazusiak took over at the front. Tom and Taddy now pulled a
large lead on the rest of the field, their small 2 stroke KTM's proving to
be best suited to this terrain along with their trials skills. Further
down the field Salminen who gated dead last had worked his way to third
but was about 5 minutes behind the leaders. Taddy was the 1st to enters
Karl's Dinner the famous rock section around 800 metres long , Tom managed
to regain the lead here taking some smarter lines but crashed just after
in the woods giving back the lead to Taddy. These two then entered the
final rock section the Roof of Africa about 1 minute apart, this section
is incredibly hard due to new rock falls and would test who would have any
energy left. Of course the trials experts made it look easy but Tom made a
small mistake as the bike washed down hill in a loose section. Taddy
Blazusiak took a well earned win with Tom a further 5 minutes behind. The
two young guns who were not pre event favorites proved anything can happen
at Erzberg and does.
Our
thanks go to;-
BMW win twin-cylinder race at Erzberg XIII
David Knight and the 950 Super Enduro R both perform well at Erzberg
Riders
had to contend with hot, dry and very dusty conditions that virtually
obliterated vision as they tackled the course carved into the remains of
an old open cut iron ore mine in the Austrian province of Styria.
Knighter
wins all at Erzberg ‘06
David
Knight: “Racing the 950 Super Enduro R was certainly different to riding the
250 EXC-F, which I raced the weekend before Erzberg. I spent some time riding
the production 950 the day before the twin-cylinder race, so that I could get
used to the bigger bike, and I knew straight away that I would be competitive.
It took me a little while to adjust to the race bike on my first run, because
I hadn’t ridden the factory race bike before, but as soon as I got three or
four corners behind me I immediately felt settled.