GEICO EnduroCross Interview – 2009 overall EX Pro class champion, KTM’s Taddy Blazusiak

Fun-loving and incredibly fast on a dirt bike, KTM’s Taddy Blazusiak’s on-the-edge riding style definitely dials up the excitement to level eleven at GEICO AMA EnduroCross events, presented by E3 Spark Plugs. The sport’s premier showman, the European has established a loyal following here in the States as he gets set to defend his 2009 EnduroCross title beginning this Saturday, July 17th, at Vegas’ Orleans Arena.

“Taddy brings it, that’s for sure,” said Mike Karsting VP of Events for Source Interlink Media. “He’s one of those riders where at least a few times a night you turn to your buddy seated next to in disbelief and go ‘Did you see that?'”

This was never more evident than last year’s opener at the Orleans where Blazusiak and Monster Kawasaki’s Ricky Dietrich put on what’s been called the greatest race in EnduroCross’ relatively short six-year history. And Rather than try to paint a picture of the event, one with all the flashy adjectives and keen superlatives imaginable in an attempt to do the Blazusiak/Dietrich battle justice, take a couple minutes and check it out for yourself. Then come back and read what Taddy has to say about this year’s EnduroCross season, his rivalry with Ricky and what it’s going to take to defend his title.

GEICO EnduroCross: Hey, you got up this morning and pulled on the 2009 GEICO AMA EnduroCross’ champion’s pants, didn’t you?

Taddy Blazusiak: (Laughter) Yes, I guess I did, didn’t I? Well, I’ve been trying to win this championship for a while and last year everything went well. It was a big accomplishment for me.

GEICO EnduroCross: You had about eight months here to bask in the glory of your first EnduroCross title. Were your buddies back in Europe, and namely your home country of Poland, into hearing the stories of your 2009 season?

Taddy Blazusiak: Well, pretty much all the people I know in lots of countries back home that actually ride and stuff knows that the AMA title is huge. It’s a good championship and I’ve been very busy since then. Won the enduro championship back home and have done well in number of other races. So yeah, the season goes around and here we are back again in Las Vegas to see if we can’t win it again.

GEICO EnduroCross: Did your training go well during the off-season? Battling any injuries, or are you entering 2010 at the Orleans in as good or better shape as in 2009?

Taddy Blazusiak: Well … at the beginning of the year right after the World Indoors I was getting ready for the World Enduros and I broke my shoulder – broke my shoulder blade and some other stuff, messed it up pretty bad. So I was off the bike for a long time trying to get it fixed. Before Erzberg (XVI Red Bull Erzbergrodeo in Austria this past June, which Blazusiak won) I was back on the bike, but I have since been off it now again for a long time. But hey, it’s not perfect. I hope I can hold onto the bars just as good.

GEICO EnduroCross: How does GEICO EnduroCross stack up against some of the other great events you race, like Erzberg and some of the indoor European enduros?

Taddy Blazusiak: I don’t know, it’s hard to tell. When you compare it to the indoor enduros back home it’s a little bit different. Our tracks back home are more … faster. And here because the arenas are quite small they end up being more technical. So it’s hard to compare one to the other. If you want to win the championship, no matter what type of race it is or where it is it always comes down to the work you have to put in to do it.

GEICO EnduroCross: We couldn’t have opened the 2009 season at the Orleans any better than we did with the battle between you and Ricky Dietrich setting the stage for the season. Tough act to follow for all the other races for sure. Are you expecting a similar charge from Ricky this year?

Taddy Blazusiak: Yeah, for sure. Ricky’s a good guy and he knows how to ride a bike. That’s it – you know? He’s all about going fast on the bike. For me, I don’t have to look around for the other racers. I just know what I have to do to be there and that’s it. Concentrate on a good hot lap so I can have a good gate pick. Then think about ripping the holeshot and racing my own race. From there we’ll see, but that’s my thing.

GEICO EnduroCross: Who are some of the other GEICO EnduroCross racers that, if you were in the stands, you’d keep an eye on?

Taddy Blazusiak: I would see how the riders look in qualifying then I would make up my mind. It’s a new season and you’ll never know what will happen next.

GEICO EnduroCross: You won your first-ever GEICO EnduroCross race at the Orleans in 2007, but didn’t get to defend that title on account of getting hurt in a WORCS race before the 2008 Vegas opener. Then, of course, you won last year. Is Vegas one of your favorite crowds to race in front of?

Taddy Blazusiak: Vegas is a cool place to race at. It’s always a good crowd and it represents the opening race and the finals. So yeah, it’s good.

GEICO EnduroCross: Talk about your bike. You’re one of a few riders still running a two-stroke, in your case a KTM 250. That seems to do the trick for you, doesn’t it?

Taddy Blazusiak: It’s pretty much the same bike I rode last year. It’s a competitive bike, a good bike. We’ve done a few things to get it ready for this year, but not much.

GEICO EnduroCross: EnduroCross is going to a couple new venues this year – the Pacific Northwest, which is prime WORCS country, and we’ll be racing the same weekend the MotoGP is running at Indy. You pumped on those new locations?

Taddy Blazusiak: Yeah, for sure. It’s always good to go to new places. I’m looking forward to seeing the MotoGP the weekend after our race. Good to see that our championship is growing and expanding to new areas. I would love it to be even some more locations and make it eight rounds!

GEICO EnduroCross: Last question … what’s it going to take to defend your 2009 GEICO EnduroCross title?

Taddy Blazusiak: You know, it’s racing … anything can happen so it’s hard to tell. I guess like stay healthy the whole season, not make any stupid mistakes, try and stay consistent in keeping it always on the podium and score points when you’re riding around. This is it I guess. It’s nice to win races, but you have to remember that to win the race you have to qualify for the race. And it’s really easy not to do that. So it’s all about staying consistent and not pushing yourself too hard because you can end up not qualifying. So we’ll see!

GEICO EnduroCross: Thanks, Taddy. How do you say “EnduroCross kicks ass” in Polish?

Taddy Blazusiak: (Laughter) Uh, well let me think…EnduroCross Jon-gee!