Enduro21 catches five with Taddy Blazusiak to talk about the shock move to Stark Future to race the SuperEnduro World Championship (that was the intention!) and help develop the Varg electric off-road motorcycle for enduro.

When the news broke that Taddy Blazusiak had signed with Stark Future to race and develop the Varg for enduro it kind of overshadowed the opening round of the 2024 SuperEnduro World Championship.

After 16-years riding for the Pierer Mobility/KTM Group, where he became the biggest name in our sport, Taddy was suddenly off to a new manufacturer.

Bigger than that was the fact he was jumping on to electric motorcycle manufacturer Stark to help develop the headline-grabbing Varg into something that will work between the trees, over logs and rocks.

Take a closer look at Taddy’s new ride here: Pro Bike: Closer look at the hottest topic right now, Taddy Blazusiak’s Stark Varg

Electric motorcycles remain a controversial subject whenever Enduro21 features them but as Taddy says, they’re the way forward, not the only way but they’re definitely here to stay.

Here to stay but not here yet as, so far with two rounds done, Stark and Taddy have been blocked from racing in the 2024 SuperEnduro World Championship by the FIM. Why? It’s a good question which none of the above or us has got to the bottom of…

But the news remains big and for Blazusiak this is a fresh challenge, “a reason to race for another year” he says and to leave a longer lasting mark on the world of off-road.

Which is why we caught five with Taddy to ask when all this came about, why now and what were his first impressions riding the Varg after so many years on the KTM bikes?

Taddy! That was a bit of a surprise to say the least. How did the deal with Stark Future come about?

Taddy Blazusiak: “To be honest we started testing in April (2023) and then we were backwards and forwards, thinking and talking and just going through the process and the deal was basically done midway through the year.”

Was it an easy decision?

“I’ve been with KTM for so long that it wasn’t an easy decision at all but it was something that I wanted to do at this point in my career. I think it’s cool to help develop this new technology and develop the enduro side of the Varg project.

“I’m definitely still a racer so I’m going to race just as soon as they let me but my knowledge and experience is also a big part that’s going to play a role in developing the bike. It’s an exciting project.

“I just have no words for the situation at the moment with the FIM.”

“I started to think about the whole project and that it could be a cool way for me to prolong my career and another reason to do another year, you know?

“At this point in a career you do ask yourself that question every now and then so I was looking for something I can do to get more involved in, something that’s gonna be very interesting.

“It’s going to be another technology that’s here to stay you know, I’m not saying that it’s going to be the only one in the future but it’s definitely here to stay.”

Was it difficult to make this decision to leave Pierer Mobility (KTM) Group after 16 years?

“Yes, yes…I mean 16 years with the company and they were the best but there’s no hard feelings there. I really felt like this was something I wanted to do but there is no bad blood and things are OK on both sides. For sure it was a tough decision for me but the biggest thing was this new challenge, like adding a little bit extra to my career.

“I believe it’s gonna give me this extra year racing for sure and I’m thinking about what can be done to make this motorcycle go faster and work for enduro.”

What was your first impression when you jumped on the Varg?

“Straight away, even though it was basically the motocross bike with stock suspension, it was a shock.

“Actually, it rained that day in the morning so when I rode it was pretty slick and we were in the woods so it was pretty cool. I was like, ‘wow, this thing’s got something’. I enjoyed that day and basically that was when we started figuring things out.”

It’s very different to ride, and has no clutch, how is it to ride on a SuperEnduro track?

“It’s a rocket and 100% there are things that make it great on a SuperEnduro track. It’s very different, you have to kind of reset your idea about the motorcycle first of all. You’ve got no clutch like a regular bike but even with no clutch you can ride it at very high level. I just need to adapt my riding.

“You have to change your riding style and you need to use the throttle way more and in a different way but it will still launch and make the jumps.”

At both rounds of the SuperEnduro season so far, despite not being allowed to race,  Taddy has bashed out some laps on the tracks in France and Poland.

“It’s easily comparable we just have to improve a little and get to know the bike better.

We only had two days of testing [before France where we conducted this interview] so there’s a lot we are still working on and but there is a lot of potential.”

Photo Credit: Future7Media | Nicki Martinez