Securing his third world crown, Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Colton Haaker has won the 2019 FIM SuperEnduro World Championship at the fifth and final round of the series in Bilbao, Spain.
Entering the closing round of the series as the championship leader, Haaker held a 12-point advantage over his closest rival with just three races, and superpole for the fastest qualifier, remaining in the 2019 championship. Although feeling unsettled on the extremely slippery and inconsistent course, Haaker still managed to power his FX 350 to the second fastest time in superpole, securing two valuable points.
In the opening race, a run of mistakes put the Husqvarna rider on the back foot early on. Finding his rhythm as the race progressed, Haaker worked his way up the leader board to secure a third-place finish. With the start order reversed for race two, he put in his best ride of the night, quickly taking control of the lead. Controlling the pace up front, he rode clear to claim victory.
With the outcome of this year’s championship fight coming down to the final moto, Haaker held the point’s advantage as they lined up at the start. A strong opening lap put him right where he needed to be, but a series of errors dramatically saw him slip back down the leader board. Putting in a fighting final lap, Haaker rode his way back into contention and with it clinched the 2019 FIM SuperEnduro World Championship.
SuperEnduro Euskadi 2019 – Maxxis Shot of the Night
This is THE Image of the Night…Colton Haaker crossing the Finish line crashing and celebrating his 3rd title with his teammates Alfredo Gomez while Cody Webb got mad at it!
Gepostet von FIM SuperEnduro World Championship am Samstag, 6. April 2019
Colton Haaker: “I’m a little bit lost for words right now, it’s been an eventful night but to end it as the world champion is an incredible feeling. I can’t thank the guys at Husqvarna enough for the support they’ve given me, not just tonight but throughout the entire series. This title is very much a team effort as it is mine. Tonight was tough. I’m not quite sure yet what it was but it certainly wasn’t my best night on a bike. The track wasn’t good and I had some serious arm pump issues, which is something I never really get. I made so many mistakes in race one and was riding too tight. Then I got it together in race two and felt more like I should. It was all on the line for the final and I did what I needed to do on the first few laps. But then the arm pump kicked in again and I stalled my bike so many times. With about a lap to go I got things together again and put everything I had left into that lap and won the title. It wasn’t pretty, but it doesn’t matter, we’re world champions and it feels awesome.”
Cody Webb (2nd overall): “Obviously I’m disappointed with the final championship result tonight, I felt I rode really good out there today and deserved the title. The night started off well with a good time in superpole and then in the restarted first final I took my time, rode smooth and took the win by a good margin. I am kicking myself now for the mistakes I made in the second final, I got caught up in traffic a few times, but still got second – I knew then I would have to really go for it in the last one. I got off the line well in the third final and set about catching Colton. After I got past him, I just stayed smooth and could see he was struggling. I’m happy because I did my best, won that third final and believe the championship should have been mine. It’s a bitter pill to swallow, but I’ll learn from it, and come back even stronger next time.”
Taddy Blazusiak (3rd overall): “This was always going to be a tough one. I am happy with how I rode today and feel I did a good job. My pace over the whole season has been good, there have just been a few instances where luck simply hasn’t been on our side. I have had some amazing events this year, I obviously still have the speed – overall race wins in Hungary and Poland show that. The track here was tight and I feel the championship should be decided on more of a flowing track that lets us really race. But this is SuperEnduro, I know I can still improve in a couple of areas – Superpole for one is something I need to work on. I’ll come back swinging next year for the title, I would love to get a seventh!”
2019 FIM SuperEnduro World Championship, Round 5
Prestige Class Overall
1. Cody Webb (USA), KTM, 60 points
2. Colton Haaker (USA), Husqvarna, 52pts
3. Taddy Blazusiak (POL), KTM, 50pts
4. Pol Tarres (ESP), Husqvarna, 33pts
5. Kevin Gallas (DEU), Husqvarna, 30pts
Final Championship Standings
1. Colton Haaker (USA), Husqvarna, 263 points
2. Cody Webb (USA), KTM, 259pts
3. Taddy Blazusiak (POL), KTM, 234pts
4. Pol Tarres (ESP), Husqvarna, 155pts
5. Alfredo Gomez (ESP), Husqvarna, 145pts
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STORY: Taddy Blazusiak Wins Hungarian Super-Enduro – Colton Haaker Maintains World Championship Lead
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