Red Bull KTM’s Jonny Walker not only survived the brutally tough Megawatt Enduro at the Belchatow Coal Mine in Kleszczow, Poland, Sunday, he claimed the overall win.
The 2016 Megawatt was so tough that out of the 500 riders who even qualified for the Final, only 18 finished. The event’s two-day beat-down included three stages: a motocross, an endurocross, and the extreme enduro.
“It was a good race, from the start to the finish line,” Walker said. “I’m happy with my performance. I was saving energy for the final sprint, because I knew the last lap would be crucial. In the end, the gaps between the fastest riders were really small. It was kind of a cat-and-mouse game. We were switching positions all the time. It can be said that winning here was a lottery. I’m glad that it was me!”
Heavy rain prior to race day left the normally dry and dusty track slick, soft and rutty, leaving many of the sandy uphill climbs virtually impassable. Walker, Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Mario Roman and Sherco’s Wade Young emerged as the top three contenders, the trio were separated by mere seconds as they headed into the final lap. In the end, Walker completed the insanely tough enduro first with a time of 2 hours, 47 minutes and 47 seconds. Roman finished just 3 seconds behind Walker, earning runner-up honors. Young finished third, 20 seconds behind Walker.
“It was a great race with a very positive result for us,” Roman said. “We had a very intense battle with Jonny and Wade, and it all went down to the very last hill. It could have easily been me getting away with the win, but still I can’t complain as I did a pretty good race. I got a great start but came together with some other riders in the first hill and we all crashed. It was very slippery in some parts. I pushed a lot in the soft sandy parts and made some good passes. My bike was working perfect, and I enjoyed every moment.”
Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Graham Jarvis was the only other rider to finish within a minute of Walker en route to fourth place, ahead of Red Bull KTM’s Taddy Blazusiak.
2016 Megawatt Enduro
Belchatow Coal Mine
Kleszczow, Poland
Results: September 18, 2016
Final
1. Jonny Walker-KTM/2 hours, 47 minutes, 27 seconds
2. Mario Roman-Hus/2:47:30
3. Wade Young-She/2:47:47
4. Graham Jarvis-Hus/2:47:56
5. Taddy Blazusiak-KTM/2:54:20
6. Manni Lettenbichler-KTM/2:57:44
7. Alfredo Gomez-KTM/3:06:08
8. Adam Tomiczek-KTM/3:16:17
9. David Cyprian-KTM/3:17:54
10. Stefan Svitko-KTM/3:18:31
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