Taddy Blazusiak's hopes of winning a third consecutive Hell's Gate extreme enduro were ended early in the main event when he crashed heavily while leading. Comfortably winning the morning qualifying event, Taddy took an early lead in the main event only to be forced to withdraw from the competition following his crash, which damaged his bike and left the Polish rider feeling dizzy.
Finishing at the top of the results at the end of the qualifying event Blazusiak lined up in pole position for the start of the four-lap Hell's Gate race and from the drop of the starter's flag lead the way. But with snow and ice covering some of the higher sections of the course Taddy crashed heavily, which brought his race to an early end. Despite feeling battered and bruised Taddy sustained no serious injuries.
Taddy's next event will be The Tough One, held in the UK, on 20.2.2010.
Taddy Blazusiak: "Obviously not finishing Hell's Gate this year isn't what I was hoping for but it can happen. I've had a really great run of results recently so although it's disappointing it's not the end of the world. The morning race went perfectly for me. I didn't want to push any harder than I needed to, and I had a really good lead after the first special test so I just tried not to make any mistakes and saved my energy on the last two tests. The main event started really well. I got a great start and opened up a good lead. I couldn't hear any riders behind be so I knew that I was alone out front. That's when I hit some ice on one of the highest sections of the track and crashed really hard. It happened really fast as the first thing I knew was that I was on the ground. I did some damage to my bike, lost my front brake, and was really dizzy. I tried to continue but I crashed a few more times and couldn't keep my balance properly. I realised it wasn't really safe to continue so I pulled out. Like I said it's really disappointing but I guess it can happen. The main thing is that I didn't injure myself so I'll get myself ready for my next event - the Tough one in the UK in a few weeks."
Results - Hell's Gate '10
Morning Enduro (Stage 1)
1. Taddy Blazusiak (KTM Enduro Factory Team) 34.02:70; 2. Graham Jarvis (Sherco) 34.30:22; 3. Andreas Lettenbichler (BMW) 34.41.15; 4. Dougie Lampkin (Beta) 36.19.70; 5. Cory Graffunder (Husqvarna) 36.40:89...
Main Event (stage 2)
1. Dougie Lampkin (Beta) 4 laps; 2. Graham Jarvis (Sherco) 4 laps