Walker’s strong performance at the 24th edition of the Austrian Hard Enduro race meant it was two from two after his second place at round one, the Extreme XL Lagares a month earlier.
“I really wanted to get a win here today but runner-up result is good.” Said Jonny after the race. “It was tough out there, the heat really added to the difficulty level. My start wasn’t great but I somehow made up a lot of places early on and got into second.
“The initial pace was very high and I knew if I tried to maintain it I’d burn out. It was mentally hard to slow things down, but the right call. The section Green Hell was a game-changer and with enough energy left in the tank I was able to literally push my way from fourth into second.
“Leading the WESS series is great. I wanted to come out strong for rounds one and two and I’ve done that. Next weekend is a Classic Enduro but I’m hoping I can do well and keep my point’s lead.”
As a three-time Erzbergrodeo Hare Scramble winner, Walker had high hopes of securing a fourth win but didn’t get the best of getaways as the 50 fastest qualifiers headed from the start line.
Despite that Jonny worked his way up to second in large volumes of traffic and heavy dust during the opening stages of the race to follow the then leader Taddy Blazusiak.
Standings – World Enduro Super Series (After round 2 of 8)
- 1. Jonny Walker (KTM – GB) 1700 points
- 2. Billy Bolt (Husqvarna – GB) 1610pts
- 3. Graham Jarvis (Husqvarna – GB) 1610pts
- 4. Manuel Lettenbichler (KTM – GER) 1540pts
- 5. Wade Young (Sherco – RSA) 1220pts
- 6. Taddy Blazusiak (KTM – POL) 1180pts
- 7. Travis Teasdale (Beta – RSA) 1030pts
- 8. Paul Bolton (KTM – GB) 1020pts
- 9. Pol Tarres (Husqvarna – ESP) 890pts
- 10. Blake Gutzeit (Yamaha – RSA) 760pts