Cycle News

OFF ROAD FIM SUPERENDURO WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS ROUND 3 / FEBRUARY 17, 2018 PALACIO DEPORTES CARPENA / MALAGA, SPAIN P80 delivered another podium result— his second in three races as a rookie in this year's champion- ship. "I'm really pleased to finish on the podium, but I've never known a night like it," Bolt said. "The track didn't look too difficult but during all of the races there were bikes everywhere, bodies everywhere and you never knew what was going to happen next. But as this is my first season of SuperEnduro I'm learning all the time." Hoping to pick up another po- dium result in the series, Haaker had a turbulent night in Spain. A crash while leading heat one knocked him back to seventh be- "It's been a great night. A crazy night, but a great night. Second overall and just two points from the win is really positive," said Walker. "It was such an unpredict- able night's racing. Winning the first final was great; battling with Taddy and Cody was awesome. "The crash at the start of the third final was pretty nasty. I got taken out from behind and set off almost last. I knew it was close for the overall win so I just pushed as hard as I could. I was a few points short at the end but in general it's been a great event and I'm more than happy with the way most of it's gone." Slightly overshadowed by the action around him, Billy Bolt again through for the win in heat one. Bouncing back to win the sec- ond heat, Webb looked like the odds-on favorite for the overall victory heading into the third and final heat of the night. But those odds evaporated within the length of the start straight when he collided with Haaker and Walker. Freeing his KTM from Haaker's Husqvarna resulted in a bent set of handlebars and a damaged radiator. Regrouping a lap down, Webb went to work to salvage his night. Battling back to ninth he claimed the overall win. "It was a crazy night, that's for sure, but I never gave up, and it feels great to have won," Webb said. "I finished the final race with a hole in my radiator, my bars were completely bent and I had half a grip missing on the throttle side, but I still managed to do enough to get the overall win. "The first-corner crash in the third final was one of those things, but it was pretty rough. I was a lap down but once I got back on track I was running a good pace. I didn't want to get involved with the riders ahead of me, but I needed to un-lap myself." Showing his best form of the series, Walker was right in the mix of things in Malaga. After almost getting the SuperPole, he then got the better of Webb in heat two to win. Fourth in heat two, he managed to recover from the crash in heat three and end his night on the second step of the podium. Taddy Blazusiak walked away from a scary crash in the second race and came back to win the third one.

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