Making it five overall victories in a row, Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Billy Bolt topped the podium at the fifth round of the FIM SuperEnduro World Championship in Budapest, Hungary. Securing three races wins from three starts on the night on his FE 350, the defending world champion extended his championship lead to 33 points.\
Words and Images by Husqvarna Motorcycles
Immediately gelling with the course in Budapest, Billy topped the timesheets during the afternoon practice sessions. Although still nursing a knee injury from round three in Germany, he found the track suited his riding style and was keen to claim race wins after placing a close second in the SuperPole hot lap.
Lining up to the second gate from the inside for race one, Billy timed his start to perfection. Exiting the first corner in the lead, he attacked the opening two laps to build a four-second advantage. Comfortably out front with three laps to go, Billy fell foul of some lapped traffic and suffered an unavoidable crash. Quickly remounting, he carefully managed the remaining laps to secure a sizeable 12-second margin of victory.
Aiming to keep that momentum rolling, the Husqvarna rider made good his second row starting position for race two. Cleanly navigating his way through the first obstacles, he worked his way into third after half a lap. Taking the race lead with four minutes to go, Bolt cleared away from the rest of the chasing pack. Despite a small slip-off with two laps to go, he remained unfazed to win race two by an incredible 20 seconds.
Another strong start from Billy on his FE 350 in race three saw him exit the first corner in second position. A close battle with early pacesetter Jonny Walker saw Billy try multiple times to overtake his rival before finally getting a wheel in front on lap three. Locking his sights on making it a clean sweep of wins in Budapest, Billy kept charging ahead. Perfectly executing the remaining laps, he took the win and with it, claimed his fifth overall victory from five in the 2024 FIM SuperEnduro World Championship.
Now with two rounds remaining, the Husqvarna Factory Racing rider heads to the penultimate round in Sofia, Bulgaria on February 24 with a healthy 33-point championship lead.
Billy Bolt: “I’m massively pleased with my riding tonight. From the get-go I felt good on the track and I really wanted to deliver a good result. With three wins from three starts, I can’t really ask for more from myself. Of course I’m still managing my knee injury from round three in Germany, but I’ve learned how to deal with it. Naturally there were some moments out on track during the evening, but that’s part of the sport. Overall my starts were solid and I grew stronger with each race. With two rounds remaining, I’ll keep chipping away at things and be ready for Bulgaria.”
Results – 2024 FIM SuperEnduro World Championship – Round 5, Hungary
Prestige Overall
1. Billy Bolt (Husqvarna) 62pts
2. Jonny Walker (Beta) 48pts
3. Diogo Vieira (GASGAS) 42pts
4. Mitchell Brightmore (GASGAS) 41pts
5. Manuel Lettenbichler (KTM) 40pts
Prestige Race 1
1. Billy Bolt (Husqvarna) 12 laps, 7:17.091
2. Jonny Walker (Beta) 12 laps, 7:29.898
3. Diogo Vieira (GASGAS) 12 laps, 7:43.224
Prestige Race 2
1. Billy Bolt (Husqvarna) 11 laps, 6:35.545
2. Diogo Vieira (GASGAS) 11 laps, 6:55.507
3. Mitchell Brightmore (GASGAS) 11 laps, 6:58.254
Prestige Race 3
1. Billy Bolt (Husqvarna) 12 laps, 6:55.701
2. Jonny Walker (Beta) 12 laps, 7:08.635
3. Manuel Lettenbichler (KTM) 12 laps, 7:12.845
Championship Standings (After Round 5)
1. Billy Bolt (Husqvarna) 301pts
2. Jonny Walker (Beta) 268pts
3. Manuel Lettenbichler (KTM) 193pts
4. Will Hoare (Rieju) 171pts
5. Dominik Olszowy (Rieju) 157pts
