Walker Victorious at Red Bull Megawatt
Jonny Walker has made a winning return to the Red Bull Hard Enduro series by claiming victory at the 2016 edition of Red Bull 111 Megawatt, his second consecutive win at the Polish event. Surpassing even his own expectations by securing victory, following his lengthy lay-off with injury Walker was confident of a podium result but also well aware that his relative lack of race fitness would likely make challenging for the win difficult.
Second behind early pacesetter Taddy Blazusiak during the opening stages of the race, Walker battled his way through the opening lap before settling into a steady pace on lap two. With many of the soft, wet sandy hills posing serious challenges for all the top riders, the battle for the win came down to a three-rider fight between Walker, Wade Yong and Mario Roman. Keeping his mistakes to a minimum during the all-important final lap, Jonny was the first to attempt the final climb. Falling just short of reaching the top, he nevertheless managed to push his bike across the finish line to secure victory just seconds ahead of Mario Roman. 
Jonny Walker: “It’s great to be back racing. After so many months away from serious competition I was looking forward to this race, to win it is an awesome feeling. I’d have been happy with any result on the podium but the race went really well. The rain certainly made things much harder than in previous years. I got a good start, followed Taddy for a while but decided to give things a go out front. It was tough on the big hills because the sand was so, so soft. There was nowhere to make time up. I tried to save as much energy as possible once the race settled down. Then I put my head down half way around the final lap. I knew that I could either win or lose the race on the final hill, it was that kind of event. Thankfully, I managed to get close enough to the top of the last climb that I was able to push to the top. It was close, but I got the win so I’m made up.”
Megawatt, 2016:
1. Jonny Walker (KTM), 2. Mario Roman (Husqvarna), 3. Wade Young (Sherco), 4. Graham Jarvis (Husqvarna), 5. Taddy Blazusiak (KTM) , 6. Manuel Lettenbichler (KTM), 7. Alfredo Gomez (KTM), 8. Adam Tomiczek (KTM), 9. David Cyprian (KTM), 10. Stefan Svitko (KTM)
(source: future7media)