EMX2t R7 Afyon Turkey 2019

Bad luck Brad - Just 1 point off the title 

EMX2t - Afyon Turkey - R7 - EMX2t             

The final round of the EMX2t was in Afyon, Turkey this weekend.  Brad Anderson and Mike Kras went into the final round on with a joint point lead.  It was going to be a battle and although Brad went into the weekend holding the red plate, it had been a close championship with the red plate being swapped back and forth on more than one occasion. 

It was a disastrous turn out with just 6 riders making the trip, and only 3 of them with the ability of a race win at this level.  So with just Anderson, Kras and Manuel Lacopi in the running, it made the championship title chase even harder for Brad but more exciting for the spectators. 

The track was deep, wide with plenty of jumps, a rhythm section and 1.7Km long.  The infrastructure around and inside the track was fantastic, hard standing all over, plenty of stalls and entertainment, perfect viewing platforms all around the track and excellent security. 

PRACTICE & QUALIFICATION:

Brad used this time to Learn the track, and try various set ups on the bike.  He came in a few times, altered a few things and so came in with a 3rd gate pick which didn’t really matter with so few riders.

RACE 1: 

The first Moto went to Brad’s advantage and gave him a 2 point lead over Kras.  Brad got the jump out the gate, but Kras cut him up on the start straight, causing Brad to slam on.  On the next corner Brad made the return challenge on the inside but hit deep sand and tipped off.  Back on quickly he was now in 2nd place behind Kras.  Nothing really changed until laps 6 & 7 when Lacopi first took Brad and then Kras and moved up into first place.  2 laps later Kras started to tire in the heat and Brad took advantage and made the pass into 2nd and pulled a decent gap.  Lacopi held the lead so Moto 1 finished, Lacopi, Anderson, Kras.  Brad now had a 2 point lead going into the final race.

It was now definitely game on.

RACE 2:

In moto 2 it was Kras out the gate with Ando chasing behind.  The track was wet and very slippy, so Brad didn’t want to go silly on the first few laps and planned to make up time when Kras tired.  But just over half way through, Brad made a mistake and tweaked his knee, preventing him from jumping the next few sections.  Lacopi took advantage and Brad let him past, in the hope that he would eventually take the lead and leave Brad to win the championship on race wins.  Lacopi closed hard on Kras, then made a massive mistake and came off the track and had to retire from the race.  With 5 laps to go, Brads plan back fired and he was left with over 6 seconds to catch.  He pushed hard and took 2 seconds off some laps but lost 1/2 second on others and couldn’t just get close enough. 

So Kras took the win, with Brad 2nd.  Kras got 3 points more than Brad.  Mike Kras therefore won the championship by 1 point over Brad Anderson.

QUOTE BY BRAD ANDERSON: 

Gutted to finish 2nd in the championship. Me and the team have worked so hard this year.  It has been a close battle and I am totally gutted to finish just 1 point off taking the trophy. 

QUOTE BY TEAM MANAGER ADRIAN KIRK: 

Like Brad we are all gutted but as usually Brad gave 110% and he was just unfortunate today.  It has been close between Ando and Kras all season and it could have gone either way.  But second is an excellent achievement.  It would have been good to get the hat trick though. ☹