Battling Brit Brad Anderson took the overall win in the EMX300 races at the Russian GP on Tuesday, moving to within eight points of red plate holder Mike Kras who had a troubled two days of action.
In Race 1 A1M’s Andero Lusbo took the lead from the first lap and stayed in the premier position each of the 17 remaining. Behind Lusbo was GL12 Racing’s Mike Kras until lap 7 when defending champion Brad Anderson, on his Verde Substance KTM, took the position.
Vaclav Kovar from the Czech Republic started 4th but moved around Kras at the same time as Anderson and then continued forward to pass Anderson 4 laps later.
Kras later dropped another position before the finish to Erik Willems from Belgium. Fellow Belgian Greg Smetswho came to Russia second in the standings was unable to start race 1, and scored zero points.
Today’s Race 2 was exactly what Verde Substance KTM’s Brad Anderson was looking for when he took the lead early and lead every lap of the race ahead of his 2017 championship rival, Mike Kras. Vaclav Kovar again moved forward from a subpar start and this time finished 3rd.
Race 1 winner Andero Lusbo ran 4th the majority of the race through to the finish. In the overall classification Brad Anderson took his first win of the 2018 season over Lusbo and Kovar. Mike Kras finished 4th overall but still maintains the red plate and leads the championship before over Anderson as the series heads to Great Britain.
EMX300 Presented by FMF Racing Race 1 Top Ten: 1. Andero Lusbo (EST, Husqvarna), 29:49.026; 2. Vaclav Kovar (CZE, Gas Gas), +0:00.477; 3. Brad Anderson (GBR, KTM), +0:02.062; 4. Erik Willems (BEL, Husqvarna), +0:29.297; 5. Mike Kras (NED, KTM), +1:05.331; 6. Ignatii Lopatin (RUS, KTM), +1:09.350; 7. Manuel Iacopi (ITA, Yamaha), +1:21.044; 8. Nikolay Kornev (RUS, KTM), +1:35.342; 9. Marek Nespor (CZE, KTM), -1 lap(s); 10. Robert Holyoake (GBR, Husqvarna), -1 lap(s)
EMX300 Presented by FMF Racing Race 2 Top Ten: 1. Brad Anderson (GBR, KTM), 29:08.297; 2. Mike Kras (NED, KTM), +0:10.567; 3. Vaclav Kovar (CZE, Gas Gas), +0:16.709; 4. Andero Lusbo (EST, Husqvarna), +0:24.339; 5. Erik Willems (BEL, Husqvarna), +0:26.802; 6. Manuel Iacopi (ITA, Yamaha), +0:49.668
EMX300 Presented by FMF Racing Overall Top Ten: 1. Brad Anderson (GBR, KTM), 45 points; 2. Andero Lusbo (EST, HUS), 43 p.; 3. Vaclav Kovar (CZE, GAS), 42 p.; 4. Mike Kras (NED, KTM), 38 p.; 5. Erik Willems (BEL, HUS), 34 p.; 6. Manuel Iacopi (ITA, YAM), 29 p.; 7. Ignatii Lopatin (RUS, KTM), 28 p.; 8. Marek Nespor (CZE, KTM), 24 p.; 9. Nikolay Kornev (RUS, KTM), 23 p.; 10. Justin Geyskens (BEL, KTM), 21 p.
EMX300 Presented by FMF Racing Championship Top Ten: 1. Mike Kras (NED, KTM), 130 points; 2. Brad Anderson (GBR, KTM), 122 p.; 3. Greg Smets (BEL, KTM), 102 p.; 4. Andero Lusbo (EST, HUS), 102 p.; 5. Manuel Iacopi (ITA, YAM), 86 p.; 6. Erik Willems (BEL, HUS), 80 p.; 7. Vaclav Kovar (CZE, GAS), 72 p.; 8. Youri van t Ende (NED, KTM), 50 p.; 9. Alonso Sanchez Osuna (ESP, TM), 36 p.; 10. James Dunn (GBR, KTM), 36 p.
EMX300 Presented by FMF Racing Manufacturers: 1. KTM, 145 points; 2. Husqvarna, 102 p.; 3. Yamaha, 94 p.; 4. Gas Gas, 72 p.; 5. TM, 36 p.; 6. Honda, 15 p.