Kiwi Rider March Vol.2 2023 | Page 22

DIRT NEWS

BOLT ON SUPER ENDURO STREAK

Following absolute domination at the third round of the SuperEnduro series in Hungary , reigning World Champ Billy Bolt rode the wave of momentum to victory in the fourth round of the series in Israel . The victory in Israel is Bolt ’ s fourth straight overall win of the 2023 FIM SuperEnduro World Championship with an outstanding display of riding at round four in Jerusalem . Getting the evening ’ s racing underway with the SuperPole hot lap , Bolt was keen to keep his unbeaten run of form going on his FE350 , making it four consecutive SuperPole wins . As the only rider to dip under the 33-second marker , he topped the time sheets and with it secured three important championship points . With the track proving tight and one-lined in places , the world champ focused on grabbing the holeshot for the opening prestige class race . Timing the drop of the gate to perfection , he was immediately out front on his FE350 . Although later admitting to making numerous mistakes , Billy built up a firm two second lead over rival Jonny Walker and was able to claim his first race win of the night . Race two saw the Husqvarna star begin from row two of the reversed-grid start . But it proved to be of little consequence for Billy . Already up to second position on lap one , he took over the race lead on lap two and began to put on a master class of riding . Clocking in clean , fast laps , he quickly checked out . Despite colliding with a back marker midway through the race , Billy raced on to secure win number two . Pleased with his own performance in race two , Billy unquestionably found his flow in race three . Third off the start , he took control of the race lead on lap one and stayed there . Building up a 13-second advantage , the Brit was clearly in a class of his own as he made light work of the slippery track . With 12 laps complete and the night ’ s fastest race time , he took the win and yet another maximum SuperEnduro points haul . “ Winning SuperPole and then all three races to claim maximum points is brilliant , it ’ s been a really , really good night for me ”, Bolt said . “ But I ’ m super critical of how I rode in race one . There were too many mistakes on my part and when I watched the race back on video I saw where I could improve . Race two was much better and then I couldn ’ t really ask for more in race three because it went that well . Although I ’ m winning , I ’ m always trying to improve . With one round to go in the championship , things are looking good for me . I ’ ve got a solid points lead now and will keep chipping away to get my third title on the bounce , in two weeks ’ time !” The Brit now heads into the final round of the series in Poland with a healthy 36-point lead as he looks to claim his third consecutive world title indoors .

22 KIWI RIDER