Sherco Factory Racing’s Wade Young has claimed victory at Red Bull 111 Megawatt in Poland, round five of the World Enduro Super Series. 

Here is all you need to know:

– This is Young’s second consecutive WESS race win, having won Red Bull Romaniacs in July.

– Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Taddy Blazusiak (POL) took second and Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Billy Bolt (GB) third.

– Series leader Jonny Walker (KTM – GB) crashed out of the race on lap two of three, while Germany’s Manuel Lettenbichler (KTM) overcame a slow start to place fourth and with it take control of the championship standings with three rounds remaining.

– After a busy day of qualification on Saturday, the 500 fastest riders in this year’s Red Bull 111 Megawatt took to the start line in Europe’s largest coal mine for Sunday’s feature race. Faced with a 30-kilometre course that weaved its way around the quarry, the addition of hot weather and dusty tracks ensured a gruelling three-lap race.

– In total 178 competitors finished this year’s edition. – The World Enduro Super Series continues with round six at Great Britain’s Hawkstone Park Cross-Country on September 22-23.

– Wade Young (Sherco – RSA): “It was so important to manage this race well. I felt good, and to win here after winning at Red Bull Romaniacs is awesome. I’m so happy right now. I got myself close to the front and then ahead of Jonny when he crashed. I think we would have had a great battle – it’s not nice to see a rider crash out. I feel like I almost had a perfect race. At the start I saw the flag drop but I was a little behind, so I kept it flat out around the outside. A few riders fell, which put me about fourth. I had a few little crashes myself but I managed to settle things down and use my speed to good effect. I put it together and felt strong. It’s awesome to get the win.”

– Taddy Blazusiak (KTM – POL): “I’m super happy to be on the podium, especially carrying an injury. I broke a finger at Red Bull Romaniacs, and I have more or less no strength or movement in it. It’s been a tough season for me, so I know I just have to tough it out and, well, things worked out great here. I had to take things carefully on the Motocross section because I was struggling to keep my hands on the handlebars where it was so rough. I was second during lap one and the guys ahead of me were really charging. I got arm pump but once that eased I started to push hard again. I had a bit of a mishap coming into the pits on lap two, but the rest of the race went well. I feel like I’m starting to turn things around and to be able to get second here in Poland is awesome.”

– Billy Bolt (Husqvarna – GB): “I’m really pleased with finishing on the podium. This was the race that I was least pleased with my performance in during 2017, so to turn things around and finish third is great. I had a poor first lap – I crashed three times on the Motocross section. It seemed to me like that section of the track was different to what we rode on during the qualification. I felt good going into the last lap. I knew Nathan Watson and Manuel Lettenbichler were ahead of me but that if I could stay close to Watson coming into the extreme stuff it would be close. I managed to get ahead of both of them and just didn’t look back. We’ve got three tough races left, but this has definitely been good for me as far as the championship is concerned. I’ll keep working hard.”

Results: Red Bull 111 Megawatt, WESS Round 5
1. Wade Young (Sherco – RSA) 3 laps, 2:10:52.04;
2. Taddy Blazusiak (KTM – POL) 2:13:01.82;
3. Billy Bolt (Husqvarna – GB) 2:13:08.63;
4. Manuel Lettenbichler (KTM – GER) 2:14:15.07;
5. Nathan Watson (KTM – GB) 2:15:34.21;
6. Josep Garcia (KTM – ESP) 2:17:54.59;
7. Blake Gutzeit (Yamaha – RSA) 2:19:07.06;
8. Graham Jarvis (Husqvarna – GB) 2:19.37.07;
9. Alfredo Gomez (Husqvarna – ESP) 2:20:45.11;
10. Paul Bolton (KTM – GB) 2:22:24.86…

World Enduro Super Series Standings (After round 5 of 8)
1. Manuel Lettenbichler (KTM – GER) 3405
2. Billy Bolt (Husqvarna – GB) 3290
3. Wade Young (Sherco – RSA) 3220
4. Jonny Walker (KTM – GB) 2900
5. Josep Garcia (KTM – ESP) 2320
6. Graham Jarvis (Husqvarna – GB) 2308
7. Taddy Blazusiak (KTM – POL) 2295
8. Paul Bolton (KTM – GB) 2262
9. Nathan Watson (KTM – GB) 1928
10. Travis Teasdale (Beta – RSA) 1790

World Enduro Super Series schedule
Rnd 1. Extreme XL Lagares (Portugal) May 11-13
Rnd 2. Erzbergrodeo (Austria) May 31-June 3
Rnd 3. Trèfle Lozérien AMV (France) June 8-10
Rnd 4. Red Bull Romaniacs (Romania) July 24-28
Rnd 5. Red Bull 111 Megawatt (Poland) September 8-9
Rnd 6. Hawkstone Park Cross-Country (England) September 22-23
Rnd 7. Gotland Grand National (Sweden) October 26-27
Rnd 8. Red Bull Knock Out (The Netherlands) November 10

More info on iRideWESS.com
Watch on redbull.tv/WESS

 

Photos: Kin Marcin  & Tomek Gola/Red Bull Content Pool