KTM Finish Strongly at Erzberg

Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Taddy Blazusiak and Jonny Walker finished in sixth and eighth places respectively at the 2019 Erzbergrodeo Red Bull Hare Scramble in Austria. KTM supported Manuel Lettenbichler finished as runner-up following a two-and-a-half-hour battle for victory.

The 25th Erzbergrodeo Red Bull Hare Scramble once again lived up to its fearsome reputation as being the world’s toughest one-day hard endure, with huge puddles and extremely slippery conditions in the forest sections adding to the level of difficulty faced by the 500 qualified riders.

Five-time winner of the event, Taddy Blazusiak put in an excellent performance to bring his KTM 300 EXC TPI home in sixth place.

“I feel this is one of those results that doesn’t show how well I rode,” said Blazusiak. “I got together with Billy off the start then got stuck with the riders who fell on the first hill, so it was a tough, tough start to the race for me. I felt good after that, and had good speed, but I knew I had a lot of work to do. It’s always hard to get through traffic here, but once you have some clear track ahead of you and are with the faster riders it’s a lot easier – you all ride the same lines and keep moving forwards. I gave my all and considering what happened at the start I’m pleased with sixth. Hat’s off to Graham for equalling the five wins.”

The second Red Bull KTM Factory racing rider to finish inside the top-10 was Jonny Walker.

“I’m happy to finish today as the race was very tough this year,” said Walker. “I got a really good start but maybe pushed a little too hard early on. The faster sections and hill climbs took a lot out of my tyre and that made things a lot trickier later on. Physically I feel good, tired of course because perhaps after struggling a little on some of the hills I had to work a little harder. Eighth place is a good result, but it’s not where I want to be. There are a few things I want to work on before the next round of the WESS in Spain.”

The next event on the 2019 WESS calendar is the Hixpania Hard Enduro, Spain on June 21-23.

Provisional Results – 2019 Erzbergrodeo Red Bull Hare Scramble

1. Graham Jarvis (GBR), Husqvarna, 2:26:46

2. Manuel Lettenbichler (GER), KTM, 2:28:55

3. Mario Roman (ESP), Sherco, 2:32:19

4. Alfredo Gomez (ESP), Husqvarna, 2:36:28

5. Wade Young (RSA), Sherco, 2:41:07

6. Taddy Blazusiak (POL), KTM, 2:50:41

Provisional World Enduro Super Series Standings (after 3 of 8 rounds)

1. Manuel Lettenbichler (GER), KTM, 1960 points

2. Mario Roman (ESP), Sherco, 1770 pts

3. Graham Jarvis (GBR), Husqvarna, 1690 pts