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Taddy Blasuziak |
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With just a few days to go before the 15th running of the world's toughest one-day extreme enduro - the mighty Erzberg Rodeo - two-time event winner Taddy Blazusiak is ready and waiting for his chance to claim a third consecutive Erzberg Hare Scramble victory. Triumphant first time out as an enduro newcomer in '07, in '08 Taddy switched borrowed machinery for a place in the KTM Enduro Factory Team and again claimed victory. This year, having spent much of the last two months preparing himself for toughest extreme enduro in the world, the talented Pole is hopeful he can make it three wins from three starts. Erzberg also marks the start of Taddy's extreme enduro and indoor enduro season. Almost five months to the day since the final round of the '08/'09 Indoor Enduro World Cup in Madrid, from Erzberg Taddy will head to the States where he will live for the next five months while competing in the '09 US Endurocross series. Following that it will be back to Europe and the start of the '09/'10 Indoor Enduro World Cup. The '09 US Endurocross series starts in Las Vegas on July 25 before heading to Oklahoma, South Carolina, Ohio, Colorado, and finishing back in Las Vegas on November 21. Taddy Blazusiak: "I feel confident about my
chances of winning at Erzberg for the third consecutive year. I've been
working hard recently, riding in lots of different types of events, so I
know I'm in good shape. It would be great to win again and get three
victories in a row, but Erzberg is an event that's hard to win and easy
not to finish. As always there's going to be lots of strong competition
from experienced Erzberg riders and some new competitors, I'm just going
to do my best and try and use my experience to good effect. I'll take one week off after Erzberg and then I head to the US and the start of the Endurocross series. I'm going to base myself in the States for the whole series this year - I'll be living with Mike Metzger in California. I'll be close to the KTM team and have lots of great places to go practicing. The injury I sustained to my face last year took a lot to get over, but I feel I'm in the best shape I can be right now, considering everything I went through. Competition in the Endurocross championship is always fierce, but I'm focused on podium results. Obviously my goal is to win the championship - to do that I'll need to be consistent throughout the championship. I'm really looking forward to it. But first I'm focusing on Erzberg, and trying to get around the Iron Mountain faster than anyone else."
Taddy
wins Hell’s Gate ‘09 Just
one week after claiming a solid runner-up position in the Indoor Enduro
World Cup Polish extreme enduro star Taddy Blazusiak has won the gruelling
Hell’s Gate event in Italy. Victor for the second consecutive year the
KTM Factory Enduro Team rider finished the two-stage event as winner of
both the morning qualifying enduro before going on to top the main
Hell’s Gate race. Finishing alongside Taddy on the podium were Italian
Alessandro Botturi and Britain’s Dougie Lampkin. Conditions
at the ’09 running of Hell’s Gate were bitterly cold, with
temperatures barely rising above freezing during much of the near nine
hours of competition. Making the ’09 event especially challenging was
the fact that the ground was frozen solid, making not only the slow-speed,
technical sections of the course difficult, but also the higher speed
tracks and trails. Despite
a ‘big crash’ during the morning enduro when Taddy hit a large patch
of ice, two winning special test performances and one runner-up result
ensured that Taddy started the main Hell’s Gate event on pole position.
Faced with four laps of a lengthened Hell’s Gate course Taddy made the
most of his advantage and opened up an early lead as the rest of the 30
competitors jostled for position. Ahead
at the end of the first lap Taddy dropped back to the runner-up position
on lap two when he found himself stuck while riding up one of the many
riverbeds. Struggling to push his bike free due to his painful wrist,
Taddy dropped between two and three minutes behind Botturi before catching
and passing the KTM mounted Italian. Once again out front Taddy made no
further mistakes and started to pull away from the riders behind him. Knowing
that even the smallest of falls could be costly Taddy maintained a steady
pace as darkness started to fall and reached the event’s finish line -
Hell’s Peak – having successfully negotiated the fourth and final lap.
Claiming his second consecutive Hell’s Gate victory Taddy finished
around eight minutes ahead of Botturi with Dougie Lampkin a few minutes
behind. Results
– Hell’s Gate ‘09 1.Taddy
Blazusiak (KTM Enduro Factory Team); 2. Alessandro Botturi (KTM); 3.
Dougie Lampkin (Beta); 4. Graham Jarvis (Sherco); 5. Tom Sagar (Husaberg);
6. Andreas Lettenbichler (BMW); 7. Piero Sembenini (Gas Gas) Taddy
Blazusiak: “This
year’s event was really, really tough. The course was frozen slid
everywhere and incredibly slippery in places. I had a big crash, like lots
of riders in the morning qualifying event, and hurt my right wrist and
fingers. That made it really hard for me. But of course it’s great to
win again. The morning event went well. I felt good and despite my big
crash I won two of the timed special tests and finished second on the last
one. You couldn’t relax anywhere because when you did the frozen ground
would catch you out. Finishing in front of some of the World Enduro
Championship riders was good, but the main thing was that I qualified on
the first row for the main race, which I did. “I
got a good start and opened up a bit of a lead off the start in the main
race, but with the conditions it was easy to make mistakes. My wrist was
giving me a lot of pain but I was riding as hard as I could. I made a
mistake on the second lap, which allowed Alessandro Botturi to pass me. He
was riding really well so I had to push hard to catch him. Once I did I
moved past quickly and again tried to push as hard as I could. I guess I
managed to open up a pretty good lead and on the third lap I was just
trying not to make too many mistakes. The last lap was tricky because the
track became even more slippery in places once the sun went down. I
managed to stay upright and got to the finish on one piece. It’s great
to have won Hell’s Gate again.”
Runner-up
finish for Taddy at Madrid Indoor and IEWC KTM
Factory Enduro Team rider Taddy Blazusiak has finished second in the
Indoor Enduro World Cup following two race wins at the third and final
round of the series staged in Madrid, Spain. Trailing KTM team-mate Ivan
Cervantes coming into the last round of the three-event championship,
Taddy was hopeful of claiming the IEWC crown but knew that to do so he
would need luck on his side. As
it turned out things didn’t start well for Taddy, despite being close to
four seconds faster than any other rider in timed practice, as an early
lead in the first final was short lived. Blasting into the lead following
a convincing holeshot, Blazusiak was unable to turn his lap one advantage
into a race winning performance as he suffered a clutch problem, which saw
him gradually slip down the finishing order. Ending the race in seventh
Taddy’s disappointment was clear as it meant that his hopes of claiming
the IEWC title had all but ended. Race
two saw another strong start from Taddy and ended with the Pole finishing
close to six seconds ahead of Cervantes. Untroubled during the race, Taddy
claimed the result he should have secured in the first race. With Ivan
finishing second the Spaniard secured the IEWC title. The
last final of the night was without question the best, and one in which
Taddy battled Cervantes for two complete laps before coming out on top and
claiming his second win of the night. With little to separate the two
riders as they exited the first turn, for two complete laps there was
little more than one bike length between them. With both riders enjoying
time at the front of the race it was eventually Taddy that edged ahead to
win the race and bring his participation in the Indoor Enduro World Cup to
a victories end. With
his indoor enduro duties over for a while Taddy will now turn his
attention to a number of extreme enduro events, starting with Hell’s
Gate next weekend. Winner of the event in ’08, Taddy will be looking to
retain his number one position at the Italian event. Results
– Madrid Indoor Enduro, overall 1.
Ivan Cervantes (KTM) 39 points; 2. Taddy Blazusiak (KTM Factory Enduro
Team) 34 points; 3. Dougie Lampkin (Beta) 22 points… Results
– Indoor Enduro World Cup, overall 1.
Ivan Cervantes (KTM) 117 points; 2. Taddy Blazusiak (KTM Factory Enduro
team) 99 points; 3. Fabio Mossini (Honda) 57 points… Taddy
Blazusiak: “First of
all I would like to congratulate Ivan. He has ridden well at all rounds of
the championship and although I am disappointed not to have won the IEWC
championship I’m happy for him. When your goal is to win a championship
it doesn’t matter how well you ride, if you don’t win it you are
disappointed – and I’m disappointed. I’ve had some not so good
races, especially at the first round in Barcelona, but in Madrid I felt I
rode well. I was much faster than any other rider in qualifying, and I
felt like I should have won all three races, not just two. I had a problem
with my clutch in the first race, which put me out of contention for a
good result. That was the championship gone then really. I started well
but wasn’t able to get the acceleration I needed to get over some of the
obstacles, and finished a long way behind. The second race went well. I
started well, stayed at the front and won. The third race was great. I had
a really good battle with Ivan and claimed the win, which was a nice way
to end the championship. Yes, I am disappointed not to have won the IEWC
series, but my performances were much stronger at the end of the series.
I’ll be back next year to try and win.”
Barcelona Indoor Enduro, Rnd 1 FIM Indoor Enduro World Cup, Barcelona, Spain Enduro Factory Team racer Taddy Blazusiak got his Indoor Enduro World Cup campaign off to a solid start ending the opening round of the series, the Barcelona Indoor Enduro, as runner-up to Spaniard Ivan Cervantes. Performing consistently throughout the opening round of the IEWC series, Taddy set the third fastest lap time during the event’s qualifying session before comfortably moving through his heat races and into the finals. With the clear goal of winning the championship Blazusiak rode hard and fast, but importantly with improved control and consistency. Faced with a fast but technical track Taddy made a great start to his title hopes by finishing a close second to Ivan Cervantes in the first of three finals. Leading for much of the race, Taddy made his only mistake of the night when his front wheel washed out from under him in one of the slowest corners on the track. Dropping from first to third, Taddy quickly moved back into the runner-up spot and crossed the finish line less than two seconds behind Cervantes. The second final saw Taddy claim the exact same result as he had in the first race. Italian Thomas Oldrati made a quick break away from the rest of the field early on the opening lap, which meant that no rider was able to catch him. Importantly for Blazusiak only a handful of seconds separated the two riders at the finish as Taddy had closed down Oldrati’s advantage at the front of the race. In the third final Taddy got caught up in the first corner, which saw him end the first lap near the rear of the field. Steadily working his way forward he moved up to fourth at the finish, which gave him a second place result for the night 2008 FIM Indoor Enduro World Cup, Series Standings after Rnd 1 1. Ivan Cervantes (KTM) 40 points; 2. Taddy Blazusiak (KTM Enduro Factory Team) 32; 3. Mika Ahola (Honda) 25; 4. Xavi Galindo (KTM) 22; 5. Thomas Oldrati (KTM) 19; 6. Alessandro Botturi (Honda) 15; 7. Graham Jarvis (Sherco) 12; 8. Bartosz Oblucki (Husqvarna) 9; 9. Fabio Mossini (Honda) 9; 10. Greg Evans (KTM) 7; 11. Andreas Lettenbichler (BMW) 3; 12. Antoine Meo (Husqvarna) 2; 13. Marc Sola (Yamaha) 2; 14. Lorenzo Santolino (KTM) 1 Taddy Blazusiak: “I’m really happy with the way I performed. Last year I was really fast but I was also riding way over my head and making a lot of mistakes. This year I was pushing hard again but I knew where my limit was, and I was making sure that I didn’t make too many mistakes. I wanted to start the championship with a top three result and I finished second overall, which puts me in the perfect place to attack at the next round. Anything can happen with this type of racing, you can get stuck with other riders like I did in the last race, but I really am happy with the way I performed. I just made one mistake during the three finals. It was a silly fall in the first final, which cost me the win, but that was my only mistake. The thing I’m happiest about is the improvement in my riding from last year. Since the crash I had earlier this year in the US I’ve been working hard to be fit and ready for this race, but also a better racer. I think I showed that, and I’m really happy with the way things went.”
KTM Enduro Factory Team rider Taddy Blazusiak has claimed a third place result at round four of the US Endurocross series - the event that marked his return to competition after undergoing facial surgery following a practice crash in early August. Although far from being fully fit due to his enforced lay-off, Taddy recorded the fastest lap time during the event’s ‘hot lap’ session before going on to win his heat race with relative ease. Knowing that he would find the main event tough due to having not raced in over two months, Blazusiak overcame a mediocre start to round the first turn close behind race leader Damon Huffman. Quickly up to third Taddy was battling with Ricky Dietrich before the Kawasaki rider fell, which allowed Blazusiak to inherit the runner-up position. With the Denver track not overly technical it didn’t allow Taddy many opportunities to put his trials riding skills to use. Nevertheless Taddy held second until two laps from the end of the race when he made a mistake and crashed over the bars. Although quickly to his feet and on his way Taddy dropped to third behind Geoff Aaron. Opting not to try and re-pass the Christini KTM rider Taddy settled for third – a result that considering all that he’s been through in recent weeks he was pleased with. Round 5 of the AMA Endurocross series takes place on October 4, in Columbus, Ohio. Results – AMA Endurocross Rnd 4, Denver, OH 1. Damon Huffman (Kawasaki) 2. Geoff Aaron (Christini/KTM) 3. Taddy Blazusiak (KTM Enduro Factory Team) Taddy Blazusiak: “After everything that I’ve been through since my accident I’m pleased with my result. It’s just great to be able to put my injury behind me, I can now focus on improving my fitness and improving my results. Everything went well for me in Denver, but I suffered with my lack of fitness, which I was expecting. I got the fastest lap during the hot lap session, I was more than one second ahead of Damon Huffman and Ricky Dietrich. “I knew from the moment I won my heat race that I was going to find the final tough. In the main event I made an ok start, I was mid-pack going into the first turn, but I managed to work my way to third in the first few corners. I was having a good battle with Ricky Dietrich until he made a mistake and I moved into second. I didn’t try to catch Huffman who was leading because I knew if I pushed too hard I would suffer in the last laps. “With two laps to go I crashed and went over the bars. I was up quickly but I dropped to third behind Geoff Aaron. I was really tired by that point so I didn’t try and pass him. I’m just pleased to be back on the podium.” www.taddy.pl
KTM Enduro Factory Team rider and ’08 Erzberg Rodeo winner Taddy Blazusiak is recovering well after undergoing a four-hour operation at the Harborview Medical Centre in Seattle, WA during which time numerous metal plates were attached to both of his cheek bones and left eye socket. Hitting his face on the handlebars of his bike when he crashed on a double jump while practicing for the WORCS X event – a race he was competing in as preparation ahead of the second round of the Endurocross series in Oklahoma City, OK, Taddy was initially taken to a local hospital for evaluation before being taken to the Harborview Medical Centre in Seattle, WA. Diagnosed as having numerous broken bones in his face but no problems with either his vision or with concussion Taddy underwent a four-hour operation during which metal plates were attached to his left eye socket and both of his cheekbones. “What happened to Taddy sounds very nasty, but we’re hoping that it’s not that bad,” commented Taddy’s brother Wojtek on Tuesday morning, August 12. “Obviously communicating with Taddy is difficult at the moment but he is able to whisper and use his hands, and he has told the doctors that he’s not in too much pain. Taddy broke his nose, both cheek bones and fractured his left eye socket when his face hit his handlebars. The good news is that his vision is fine, he has no concussion and the rest of his body is ok. When he crashed he cut his left eyebrow so the surgeon went in through that cut to fix his eye socket rather than making any new cuts. Taddy also cut his tongue, but that’s fine now he has a few stitches. The plates for his cheekbones went in through his mouth so there wont be any obvious scars. We’re expecting Taddy to stay in hospital for 24 to 48 hours after the operation and then he will probably remain in the States for a week while the swelling goes down. Taddy wants to get back on a bike as soon as he can, but the doctors have told him that it wouldn’t be a good idea to race next week. Taddy’s in pretty good spirits and we’re hoping that he will be back racing as soon as the swelling in his face has settled down.” www.taddy.pl AMA Endurocross Rnd 1, Las Vegas, Nevada, 5.7.2008 Blazusiak wins ’08 Endurocross opener in Las Vegas KTM Enduro Factory Team rider Taddy Blazusiak got his participation in the ’08 AMA Endurocross series off to a winning start by claiming victory at the opening round of the six-event championship held in Las Vegas, Nevada. Starting as the rider most expected to win aboard his 200cc factory KTM, Blazusiak had to endure one of the toughest nights of racing he’s ever experienced. Needing to compete in a heat race, a semi and then the LCQ before moving into the final, Taddy clocked up more laps around the technical Las Vegas course than any other. Thankfully, Blazusiak earned himself the winning result he hoped he’d secure, but certainly didn’t make things easy for himself inside the Orleans Arena. Confident that he would quickly move into the final having set the fastest lap time during timed practice, Taddy’s troubles started during the closing stages of practice where he suffered a blown rear shock. Then in his heat race the two-time Erzberg Rodeo winner suffered with yet more suspension troubles, which resulted in a very heavy, and painful, landing over the log jump. Finishing third Taddy was forced to compete in one of the semi races. Forced to switch to a replacement set of suspension Taddy’s troubles continued as he was hit from behind early in his semi race and sent crashing to the arena floor. Working his way back up towards the front of the race as he went to move into the lead he tangled with the race leader, which resulted in Taddy being stranded with another rider’s handlebars stuck in his rear wheel. With just one-and-a-half laps remaining Taddy had no time to move himself into a qualifying position and was forced to compete in the LCQ race. Knowing that a winning result and only a winning result would do Taddy, despite being in considerable discomfort following his heat race, managed to do enough to finish first and secure himself a place in the final. Forced to start on the extreme outside, fatigued, and struggling to compete at his best due to using a spare set of suspension Taddy opted to ‘let the rest go’ as the gate dropped for the final. Cutting back to the inside of turn one the Pole soon found himself in third and my mid-race had moved into the runner-up position. Battling with Geoff Aaron Taddy managed to move into the lead and despite getting stuck in the rocks during the closing stages of the race he held on to claim a hard fought and deserved win to take an early lead in the ’08 AMA Endurocross championship. Round 2 of the AMA Endurocross series takes place on August 16, in Guthrie, Oklahoma. Taddy Blazusiak: “It’s great to have won, but man that was a tough night of racing. I can’t believe how many laps I had to ride – it feels like I didn’t stop riding all night. And I can’t remember the last time I had such an eventful race. “I got the result I wanted eventually but at one stage I honestly didn’t think I was even going to get into the main event, let alone win it. It started with some suspension problems in practice and my heat race. That, added to the fact that I smashed my balls so hard I couldn’t breath properly all night, meant that I ended up in one of the semis, which didn’t go well. I got hit by someone in one of the corners and was last, then had to overtake everyone, only to then get tangled up with the leader and have his bars get stuck in my rear wheel. “I was really starting to feel the pressure in the LCQ – I honestly thought that I might not make the final. My balls were hurting so much, I was tired, and I couldn’t ride properly. But I made it into the final, which was a huge relief. “With the final taking place just two minutes after the LCQ, and with the LCQ having taken place just a few minutes after my semi, I was finished. I was so tired and had the last pick of the start so I just decided to let the other riders go and see what happened. I somehow got into third quite quickly, then into second, and then I was really struggling for energy. I got into the lead but had to slow down. Then I got stuck in the rocks, which I couldn’t believe. I managed to get back into the lead and win the race quite comfortably but I don’t think I could have done one lap more. “I’m hoping I’ve had all my bad luck for the championship in one race. If the rest of the races are going to be a tough as this first event then it’s going to be one hell of a difficult championship.” Results – AMA Endurocross Rnd 1, Las Vegas 1. Taddy Blazusiak (KTM Enduro Factory Team) 2. Geoff Aaron (Christini KTM) 3. Ricky Dietrich (Kawasaki) Blazusiak finishes 15th at ’08 Trefle Lozerien Poland’s Taddy Blazusiak headed to France last weekend to compete in the Trefle Lozerien – France’s most prestigious ‘classic’ enduro. Only the second time in which the two-time Erzberg winner had ever taken to the start of a traditional enduro, Taddy placed a creditable 15th overall at the end of the three-day competition, just one place behind former World Enduro Championship winner and current Dakar star Stephane Peterhansel. Competing at the request of sponsor Red Bull Blazusiak had little time to fully prepare for the event due to heading to France almost directly from Austria where he claimed his second Erzberg Rodeo victory, but nevertheless enjoyed his time competing against the cream of France’s enduro riders. Disappointingly the weather in France wasn’t anything like as good as it was at Erzberg with each of the three days of the Trefle Lozerien event being wet. Knowing that he was competing ‘just for fun’ Taddy decided to take things steady on the opening two days but still put in some impressive special test times to claim 15th on day one and 13th on day two. On the final day of the event Taddy’s result took a slight turn for the worse as his decision not to take the advice of a spectator resulted in him getting stuck. Losing valuable seconds Taddy learned that sometimes it’s good to use the lines spectators recommend. Taddy will now continue his preparations for the opening round of the AMA Endurocross championship, which takes place in Las Vegas on July 5. Taddy Blazusiak: “Competing in the Trefle Lozerien was a really interesting experience for me. I was competing at the request of Red Bull, along with Cyril Despres, and despite the weather being extremely wet I really enjoyed myself. I’m certainly not looking to start racing in enduros regularly, but it’s been good to compare my speed against some of the world’s fastest enduro riders. “During the event I had some good test times, and got my ass kicked on some others. I managed to beat Ivan Cervantes on a couple of tests on the first two days, which I was really pleased with. I just can’t remember the last time I spent so many hours on a bike completely wet to the skin. “The French riders are so, so fast in the grass and mud. During the first two days I just took things steady – traditional enduro races aren’t my thing so I didn’t want to do anything stupid. I didn’t have any crashes on the first two days so I decided to push it a bit more on the last day, but I soon wished I hadn’t. “On one section of a special test a spectator was showing me a line through some mud, but I thought that I would try my own line. It didn’t work. I got completely stuck, and couldn’t stop laughing at myself. “Considering that it was my second true enduro I’m pretty pleased with 15th. I’m now going to spend the next weeks getting myself ready for the first round of the AMA Endurocross championship.” Results – Trefle Lozerien ’08 (overall)
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Blazusiak
ready for Erzberg & looking forward to US Endurocross
Madrid
Indoor Enduro, Madrid, Spain, 7.2.2009 
Impressive start to ’08 IEWC for Blazusiak
Blazusiak
third on US Endurocross return AMA
Endurocross Rnd 4, Denver,
Taddy
on the mend following four-hour operation