Russia has ‘no business being on the EMX calendar’ says team owner

GL12 Racing KTM made the long trip to the shores of the Black Sea for the MXGP of Russia where Mike Kras was defending his lead in the EMX300 series and James Dunn was contesting the EMX250 class on the only two-stroke in the entire field.

Dutch sand specialist Mike didn’t feel comfortable on the fast, hard-pack circuit in the opening race and came home fifth but the following day he improved to second to keep hold of the red championship leader’s plate with an eight-point lead with four rounds remaining.

James put in two solid performances against the four-strokes, recording 13-14 finishes.

“Russia to all intents and purposes is a ‘flyaway’ event,” explained Team Principal, Bob Buchanan. “For small teams and private individuals it’s a logistical nightmare and an horrendous expense and because of this it has no business being on the EMX calendar which was reflected in the entry.

“Both riders rode well and got home safely which was paramount and Mike kept the red plate while Jim put in two solid rides.

“The performance of the GP for me came from Ade Phelpstead who ran the set-up in my absence as we couldn’t afford for me to go as well so a big thank you to him and everyone who is helping me pay for it.”

“Russia didn’t go how I wanted it to but if this is going to be my worst round then I’m happy to only drop seven points on the guy in second place,” said Kras.

“On Saturday I didn’t like the track at all. If I’m being honest I got scared. Sunday was much better – my riding was good and I felt much more comfortable on the track.

“Now I want to focus for a few weeks and make sure I come out on top in the EMX300 at the MXGP of GB at the beginning of next month.

“I’d like to say a big thank you to Bob for getting me in and out of Russia and to Ade for his work on the bike.”

“The MXGP of Russia is a big one for the teams so firstly I’m very thankful to be given the opportunity by Bob and Ade to go and race this GP,” said Dunn.

“In qualifying on Monday morning I was a little bit off the pace and ended up 26th but I had a good time learning the new track with the big jumps and technical sections.

“I got a good start in moto one and was battling for the whole race with a big group of riders just outside the top 10 and came home 13th which I was happy with. I didn’t get such a great start in race two but feel I rode a solid moto to pull through to 14th.”