Taddy Blazusiak in the box seat to take title

Taddy Blazusiak may have had to settle for third in the first round of the World Enduro Championship in Genoa in November but on Sunday night the Polish extreme Enduro maestro won three finals in Round 2 in Barcelona to surge ahead in the points and set himself up to defend his title On a night of action when KTM also presented the 2011 Enduro Factory Team and the new KTM 350 EXC-F Factory bike, it was extreme Enduro specialist Blazusiak and KTM's E3 world champion David Knight who saw most of blue ribbon action. Following Taddy's 3-way victory, David, riding the new 350 EXC-F factory bike, was the fastest qualifier and scored a 2-3-2 result for his efforts in the three finals.

Taddy in the box seat to take title
With the championship trimmed to three instead of the initial five events, leaving only one more round, Taddy is now perfectly placed to reclaim his crown from last season. After picking up a perfect score of 60 points on Sunday, he surges to the front of the overall table with 103 points, 17-points ahead of Joakim Ljunggren of Sweden.

New team member Guerrero up with top riders
On a night where many of the top riders were sidelined, KTM factory team boss Fabio Farioli said he was also satisfied with the performance of his newest recruit to the team lineup young Cristobal Guerrero who was riding in front of his home crowd. Guerrero was also onboard the new 350 bike and finished the night with a 5-7-6 result. Teammate Thomas Oldrati of Italy raced in the first two finals but had to retire from the third because he had hurt his shoulder in qualifying earlier in the day. Finland's Mika Ahola, the winner in Genoa's first round finished back at seventh and now has 73 points.

A triumph for the new 350 EXC.F factory bike
The night was also a triumph for the new Enduro machine, which follows on from the 2010 release of the revolutionary 350 SX-F on which Tony Cairoli won the MX1 World Championship in its first season out. The new 350 EXC, in the experienced hands of David Knight was one of the stars of the evening in front of a huge crowd in Barcelona's Palau Sant Jordi stadium in front of thousands of enthusiastic fans.

Hard work and dedication
The new 350 EXC-F factory bike represents hard work and dedication by KTM's R&D department with direct input from leading factory riders like Knight and others. The project was led by KTM's Joachim Sauer, who won the Enduro European Championship in 1987 on the first 350 Enduro LC4 prototype.


Presentation of the 2011 Enduro Factory Team; honoring KTM heroes
KTM used the occasion of the Barcelona event to present the official 2011 Enduro Factory Racing team, including team boss Fabio Farioli and KTM head of Motorsports Pit Beirer together with the revolutionary new machine. Also invited were 100 members of the international, KTM dealers, sponsors and partners.

Honoring the KTM Enduro heroes
The company also took advantage of the electric atmosphere of the event to pay tribute to KTM Enduro legends: Arnaldo Farioli, who has been with KTM since 1964 as the eternal KTM racer, businessman and dedicated Orange family member; Anton Marsignac, in 1982 the first ever Spanish Enduro Champion on a KTM and for more than 20 years a KTM importer who runs a successful KTM dealership; Toni Stoecklmeier, former top Enduro champion, ISDE Six Days rider and a long-term key player in the KTM Management and bridging the gap to the latest generation, KTM's Joachim Sauer. Sauer won the Enduro European Championship in 1987 on the first 350 Enduro LC4 prototype and 24 years has been in charge of the project to produce the latest revolutionary 350cc EXC-F machine.

Results of Round 2
 
1, Taddy Blazusiak, Poland, KTM, 60 Points (1-1-1)
2, David Knight, UK, KTM 350, 48 (2-3-2)
3, Joakim Lundgren, Sweden, Husaberg, 41
4, Alfredo Gomez, Spain, Husaberg 35
5, Graham Jarvis, UK, Husaberg 28
6, Cristobal Guerrero, Spain, KTM 350, 26
7, Mika Ahola, Finland, 22
8, Dougie Lampkin, UK, Gas Gas, 18
11. Thomas Oldrati, Italy, KTM 13


Standings:
 
1, Taddy Blazusiak, Poland, KTM 103 points
2, Joakim Ljunggren, Sweden, Husaberg, 86
3, Mika Ahola, Finland Honda, 73

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