Continuing to cement himself as the rider to beat in the FIM SuperEnduro World Championship, Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Billy Bolt has delivered a winning ride at the penultimate round of the series, in Budapest. Securing two wins from three starts, the Brit extended his lead in the series’ overall standings with one round remaining. After an up and down night, teammate Alfredo Gómez took third in race three for fourth overall.
Regaining control of the leader’s red plate last time out in Spain, Bolt arrived in Hungary determined to build on that performance. Knowing that his speed was not in question, the Husqvarna FE 350 mounted rider was focused on eliminating the mistakes that had hampered him at earlier rounds, and producing a consistent night of racing.
Immediately setting the pace, he topped the SuperPole with the fastest hot lap time. Riding top-three during the opening laps of race one, a mistake in the rocks on lap five saw him drop back from the leaders. Fighting his way back into contention, another mistake forced Billy to settle for third.
Regrouping for the second half of the night, Bolt returned to the track for races two and three eager to prove himself. Calmly working his way through the pack in race two, he grabbed control of the lead on lap one and never faltered. Pulling clear of his rivals, he raced on to an impressive victory, 22 seconds ahead of his nearest challenger. Delivering another controlled performance for the third and final race, Bolt put himself out front on lap two before eventually crossing the finish line with 23 seconds in hand.
Despite enjoying the track and showing good speed, Alfredo Gómez endured a tough opening two races. A crash in the first corner of race one saw him forced to work overtime. Battling through, he recovered for fifth. Stuck in traffic for the majority of race two, the Spaniard was forced to settle for sixth.
Motivated to end his night on a high, Alfredo worked his way into third at mid-distance, setting his sights on second position. Steadily closing the gap to the rider ahead with each passing lap, the TE 300i mounted rider took the fight right down to the final corner, eventually placing third.
The FIM SuperEnduro World Championship concludes with round five in Lodz, Poland on March 14, 2020.
Billy Bolt: “I came here wanting to show a new me. Often I make mistakes and rush things too much on track, but I’ve been working hard to be smooth, fast and importantly patient. Admittedly in race one I made too many errors and a better result than third slipped away, but I regrouped for the rest of the night. I picked the right moments to attack and was able to win both races comfortably. I’ve always shown my speed is there, but I’m so pleased to bring consistency into the mix like this. We’ve got a healthy lead now heading to the final round in Poland next month, where hopefully we can take this world title.”
Alfredo Gómez: “The first two races were difficult. I crashed off the start in race one and that put me right at the back. Although I was enjoying the track, it wasn’t easy to make positions but I managed to recover to fifth. In race two I wasn’t in a good starting position on the second row and again got stuck in traffic. Sixth was the best I could do. But I’m happy to show my true form in race three. I was in a good position and got into third early on and then almost took second on the final corner.”
Results – SuperEnduro World Championship, Round 4
Prestige Overall Classification
1. Billy Bolt (Husqvarna) 58 points; 2. Jonny Walker (KTM) 56 pts; 3. Taddy Blazusiak (KTM) 46pts; 4. Alfredo Gómez (Husqvarna) 35pts; 5. Pol Tarres (Husqvarna) 29pts…
Prestige Race 1
1. Jonny Walker (KTM) 10 laps, 7:08.810; 2. Taddy Blazusiak (KTM) 7:16.956; 3. Billy Bolt (Husqvarna) 7:21.811; 4. Will Hoare (KTM) 9 laps, 7:11.130; 5. Alfredo Gómez (Husqvarna) 7:22.143…
Prestige Race 2
1. Billy Bolt (Husqvarna) 10 laps, 7:20.134; 2. Jonny Walker (KTM) 7:42.688; 3. Taddy Blazusiak (KTM) 7:55.681; 4. Pol Tarres (Husqvarna) 8:04.583; 5. Blake Gutzeit (Husqvarna) 8:04.845; 6. Alfredo Gómez (Husqvarna) 9 laps, 7:21.712…
Prestige Race 3
1. Billy Bolt (Husqvarna) 10 laps 7:12.165; 2. Jonny Walker (KTM) 7:35.362 +23.197; 3. Alfredo Gómez (Husqvarna) 7:37.353 +25.188; 4. Taddy Blazusiak (KTM) 7:45.441 +33.276; 5. Blake Gutzeit (Husqvarna) 7:26.428 +1 lap…
Championship Standings (After Round 4 of 5)
1. Billy Bolt (Husqvarna) 227 points; 2. Taddy Blazusiak (KTM) 209pts; 3. Jonny Walker (KTM) 192pts; 4. Alfredo Gómez (Husqvarna) 161pts; 5. Blake Gutzeit (Husqvarna) 112pts…
