If there’s one thing about endurocross racing that is predictable is its unpredictability. Anyone who has ever witnessed an endurocross learns very quickly that no race is ever over before it’s over. There is no such thing as safe lead in endurocross racing. But, for the first time in the sport’s young history, there was a hint of predictability. And that was Taddy Blazusiak.
The former World-class trials rider from Poland flat out dominated this year’s AMA Endurocross Championship, winning all but one round of the six-round series. And had it not been for a damaged front brake, who knows what would’ve happened in the one main event he lost. (But we do have a good idea.) Still, to win five of six endurocross main events is truly a remarkable feat.
Blazusiak capped off his stellar season with another win, this time at the granddady of endurocross events, the Orleans Arena race in Las Vegas, the birthplace of AMA endurocross racing. In front of a capacity crowd, Blazusiak led every lap of the final event though he didn’t have to, since he had already had a lock on his second AMA Endurocross Championship after having qualified for the main event earlier that evening. Taddy put on another textbook endurocross show, leading every lap after quickly getting around holeshotter Geoff Aaron.
We caught up with Taddy moments after his Las Vegas win and asked him a few questions.
So how does it feel to win your second AMA Endurocross Championship?
It’s the best feeling in the world. There’s nothing better than winning championships, it’s my second in a row, and it’s great to win for a second time. I won five out of six races this year, so I am just super happy about that. But I have to give a big thanks to my team. The KTM factory team worked really hard, all together, the whole year. My mechanic Leon, he was really on it the last sixth months prepping my bikes, and all of my sponsors, Red Bull, Fox, TCX… just everybody for helping me out. I’m just super, super happy.
Talk a little about tonight’s race.
The race was great. I was on the gate with absolutely no pressure at all, I was just out there having fun riding. I was hitting things really fast and just having fun. I think you could see in my riding, you could tell I wasn’t thinking about winning the race but thinking about having fun on the bike. There was nothing else I could do. Getting a great start and leading every lap was just great.
Everyone seemed to struggle through the rock section except you, and perhaps Geoff Aaron, who was your closest competitor through out the year.
I had my moments in the rocks, too, it wasn’t that easy. I just tried to follow my program and stay out of trouble and do my job as good as I can and ride as good as I can. That’s just the way it works.
What did you think of Geoff Aaron’s performance this year? He turned out to my your main competitor all year.
Geoff was riding really good this year. He’s a really good rider. But there were many who were riding well this year, too. I’d have to say that the level overall for the championship was really tight. If you look at the hot laps, there were so many of us within a 10th of a second, so that just goes to show just how fast those guys are and how hard it is to win a race. It’s just getting better and better every year. Man, what’s going to happen next year?
What was your game plan going into the 2010 season?
Basically, I didn’t change anything with my program from last year, I was just training good. I broke my shoulder early in the year, so I wasn’t sure how I was going to be. I was off the bike for almost two months, so that was tough. When I got back on the bike, I was training really hard and following my program. So I was doing all the things that I already knew how to do. It really paid off. Winning five out of six races was pretty a dominant season for me, but I was just taking it race by race and trying to holeshot every single race and go as fast as I could. I was doing my job the best I could.
So, what is your opinion on the sport of endurocross in general, now that it’s been around for a while?
The endurocross is a great thing. It brings off-road to the people. The public is here and we’re in an arena, it’s the Supercross of off-road. It’s really great and I’m happy to be racing this series. The series is growing. I can see it with the fans; I can see their interest, so I’m really happy about that. Hopefully the championship will get even bigger next year.
Will you be back next year to defend you number-one plate?
I’ll be back here for sure next year and race endurocross. I’ve got a lot of races going on back home, but I’m looking forward being back here again next year.
You ride a two-stroke in the endurocross championship, a KTM 250 XC. Do you think two-strokes have an advantage over the four-strokes in endurocross racing?
I don’t think it’s an advantage, to be honest. It’s just that it’s a good bike – definitely a good bike. It’s a competitive bike. It’s good off the gate, it’s good everywhere. It’s not a huge difference, I think, but for sure my bike is really good, and I’m really happy with the setting.
So what are you going to do now? It’s time to celebrate, right? After all, you are in Vegas.
Actually, I’m flying back home tomorrow morning because I have another race this weekend, the first World [Indoor Enduro] round back home. I’m going to go out and have a few beers tonight with the team then go to bed, get up early and fly out tomorrow.
Taddy Facts:
2010
AMA Endurocross Champion
Indoor Enduro World Champion
2009
AMA Endurocross Champion
Winner Erzberg Rodeo ’09
Winner The Tough One – Extreme Enduro, United Kingdom
Winner Hell’s Gate Extreme Enduro Ciocco, Italy
2nd place FIM Indoor Enduro World Cup
2008
2nd place The Tough One – Extreme Enduro, United Kingdom
2nd place FIM Indoor Enduro World Cup
Winner Hell’s Gate Extreme Enduro Ciocco, Italy
Winner Rodeo-X Enduro Cross Linz, Austria
Winner Erzberg Rodeo ’08
2007
Winner Erzberg Rodeo
Winner Endurocross Las Vegas, USA
Winner Last Man Standing Bulcher, USA
2nd place Indoor Enduro Munich, Germany
5th place Indoor Enduro Barcelona, Spain