A British Hattrick

words courtesy of SUPERENDURO photos FUTURE7MEDIA

The second round of the FIM SuperEnduro World Championship was a royal success for the British riders, who heard ‘God Save the King’ ring out three times across the classes. Billy BOLT in Prestige, Ashton BRIGHTMORE in Junior, and Dan PEACE in European. The German Grand Prix offered a thrilling rollercoaster of the sport at its greatest. Billy BOLT leaves Riesa as leader in Prestige but it wasn’t the usual smooth sailing for the Husqvarna rider.

The 2023 German Grand Prix will go down in the annals of SuperEnduro sport. As usual, the Riesa club crafted a technical and tough track for the world’s best riders. A rocky bridge section above a tunnel caused trouble for many of those who tackled it. Even Billy BOLT (GBR-Husqvarna) was caught out in this spot several times, despite floating over it with astonishing ease during SuperPole. The evening started well for the Brit, although a heavy landing off a vertical jump on the fifth lap of the first race allowed Jonny WALKER (GBR-Beta) to make a move on the series leader. Although WALKER took the lead briefly, it wasn’t long before BOLT regained control, just a few turns after the landing. BOLT twisted the knife by beating the Beta rider by almost 3 seconds. At the end of this first race, onlookers were beginning to imagine another ‘untouchable’ evening for Billy.

In the second race, the reverse grid heat, madness would seize the SachsenArena as the spectacle offered by the riders heated up rapidly. Even the start of the race was spectacular as Blake GUTZEIT (SFA-TM) snatched the Airoh Holeshot and shot into the lead. Trailing close behind was Dominik OLSZOWY (POL-GasGas), the 2022 Junior Champion was enjoying a much better night than that of the opening round. The Pole led the first laps of this round with authority, but eventually the GasGas rider was overwhelmed by the furious battle between BOLT and WALKER.

The two compatriots engaged in a superb fight, and as the Beta rider closed down his Husky mounted rival, they both went down in the soft sand. OLSZOWY temporarily retook the lead, but once back in the saddle, the battle of the Brits continued and BOLT quickly took over. Just when we thought BOLT was soaring to another victory, he had an uncharacteristic crash on the bridge climb. Fighting against gravity, BOLT saw WALKER whizz past and into first place. Despite a huge charge at the end of the race, BOLT was not be able to close the gap that separated him from the Beta rider. Meanwhile, Taddy BLAZUSIAK (POL-GasGas) dived into second place, and looked back on form. The GasGas rider slipped on the finish line logs while taking the chequered flag and slid into the path of a chasing BOLT, who violently hit BLAZUSIAK. Thankfully, the two riders emerged from the terrifying crash without serious injury, with the Pole suffering a mild shoulder injury. Jonny WALKER had finally ended BOLT’s Riesa winning streak – he had been undefeated here since 2020!

The last race in the Prestige category was just as competitive and spectacular as the previous one. Once again, SuperEnduro fans finished the round on the edge of their seats. On the first lap of this last race, BOLT shockingly went down on the bridge once again, and Jonny WALKER seemed odds- on favourite to win. Four minutes from the end of the race, WALKER was more than ten seconds ahead of BOLT. But the Husqvarna rider can never be counted out and he gave his all to regain the lead… something he did on the last lap of the race! What a round, and what a thrill! All the ingredients were there to make this second GP of the year an unforgettable part of the 2023 season.

Taddy BLAZUSIAK managed to fight back from his horrer crash to climb on the third step of the final podium. The Polish legend therefore takes his first podium of the season with courage and experience. But the evening was once again marked by the BOLT/WALKER domination. Friends in the paddock, the two boys have a great time battling on the track. BOLT leaves Germany 14 points ahead of WALKER.

BLAZUSIAK is 37 points behind BOLT and just ahead of WEBB by two points.

While Mitch BRIGHTMORE (GBRGasGas) shone in the Krakow night, it was his little brother Ashton BRIGHTMORE (GBR-GasGas) who impressively won this second GP in the Junior category. The two young brothers have been truly phenomenal this season, and it is important to remember that the German Grand Prix was only their second SuperEnduro participation. Only Milan SCHMUESER (GER-

Sherco) managed to win one of the six races that have so far been contested in Junior. The German, who was announced as the big favourite of the class, has been hounded by the British brothers. This weekend, it was 16-year old Ashton’s turn to steal the show. Second in the first race behind SCHMUESER, he finished second again in the reverse grid race behind his brother. The youngster closed proceedings by leading the last race of the evening with authority. It is impressive to see such dominance on a very different track configuration to the opening round in Poland. It is no longer in question; the two BRIGHTMORE brothers are two pure talents in the discipline. Remember the names, because they will surely continue to fly the Union Jack high in the future. Mitch leads the championship proceedings ahead of Ashton by just 8 points, SCHMUESER is not defeated and the German is only 9 points behind the category leader.

Used to riding in trials competitions in Great Britain, Dan PEACE won on his first appearance in the SuperEnduro European category. The Brit put his Sherco in front of that of Hungarian Mark SZOKE. It was another Hungarian, Roland LISZKA (KTM) who climbed on the bottom step of the podium after three crazy races which once again made the fans in Riesa’s SachsenArena rise up.

Once again, the German Grand Prix was high in emotion and adrenaline. The next meeting for the competitors of the FIM SuperEnduro World Championship will be in Budapest, on February 4, for the highly anticipated Hungarian Grand Prix.

PRESTIGE OVERALL:

1. Billy Bolt (HSQ)

2. Jonny Walker (BET)

3. Taddy Blazusiak (GG)

4. Cody Webb (SHE)

5. Alfredo Gomez (RIE)

6. Will Hoare (GG)

7. Dominik Olszowy (GG)

8. Cooper Abbott (SHE)

9. Diogo Vieira (GG)

10. Eddie Karlsson (KTM)

11. Blake Gutzeit (TM)

12. Norbert Zsigovits (KTM)

13. Mirko Fabera (GG)

14. Ramon Bregoli (KTM)