MEAD 6th, BIRCH 8th AT ERZBERG

HATTRICK FOR TADDY BLAZUSIAK
Red Bull Hare Scramble, 14 June 2009, Erzberg

Harder than ever, merciless like always - however the winner is again Taddy Blazusiak from Poland. In a red-hot battle the 26-year old becomes the first for 15 years to win the Red Bull Hare Scramble three times in a row. With the winning time 01:41:46 he leads the elite, who still manages to survive on the mountain, with a respectable distance. Only 21 participants out of 500 manage to cross the finishing line on the Erzberg in Styria.



'That’s the limit, even harder is not possible! I am completely exhausted, but also unbelievably happy', says a totally outspent Taddy Blazusiak (POL, KTM) in relation to his unique triumph on the iron giant and while passing the finishing line receives the confirmation of the extension of his KTM factory contract. The Pole, who came out of the blue on the Erzberg in 2007, is at the head of the starter group for more than 40 minutes, though he is physically not a 100% fit. After his start in the third starting row Graham Jarvis (GBR, Sherco) manages to finish 2nd; when passing the finishing line you can tell the inhuman struggle is written in his face as well as in the face of the German Andreas Lettenbichler (BMW), who reaches the winner trio only a couple of minutes later.



From a local point of view Seppi Fally, a young Styrian, can assure his prologue victory and the number one for today’s finale, the four-hour offroad-martyrdom Red Bull Hare Scramble. During the almost 40 kilometers and 20 checkpoints with funny names such as water pipes, bath tube, lunar landscape, ammunition dump, Carl’s Dinner, Roof, court’s ditch or magic forest he had to pass on the place to the best Austrian to twelve times trial champion Erich Brandauer who finishes 13th.



Hard, harder, Erzberg – was the motto at the 15th edition of the most brutal and notorious off-road race in the world. The starting signal for the first of ten rows in the starting position was given at 12.00 am, as usually. Accidents, unwanted slidings, material damage and exhausting pushing passages were the things that followed, as everyone expected. Six no-help zones, huge piles of scree and loose stones were the spices for the anyway exuberant Sunday menu. Boiling coolers, smoking carbs and litres of sweat received a big applause from the audience. The 2009 additional challenge: brooding heat of more than 30° Celsius forced many riders to give in, not even some pro riders’ circulation could stand these stresses and strains. Almost two dozens invincibles passed the redemptive finishing line within the fixed time. After the fours hours race it was clear to the riders that the jubilee edition in 2009 was the hardest Red Bull Hare Scramble ever over hedge and ditch and rocks. And though there were only few to pass the finishing line – there were still 500 winners.



1. Taddy Blazusiak (POL, KTM) 1:41:46
2. Graham Jarvis (UK, Sherco) 2:22:05
3. Andreas Lettenbichler (GER, BMW) 2:25:17
4. Ben Hemingway (UK, Gas Gas) 3:27:48
5. Cory Graffunder (CAN, KTM) 3:37:50
6. Rory Mead (NZL, Yamaha) 3:38:02
7. Dan Hemingway UK, KTM) 3:54:24
8. Chris Birch (NZL. KTM) 3:55:01
9. Gerhard Forster (GER, BMW) 3:58:21
10. Kyle Redmond (USA, Yamaha) 4:08:16

Red Bull