MISFORTUNE COSTS TONKOV A PILE OF POINTS AT ADAC MASTERS EVENT
29 AUGUST 2010

Aleksandr Tonkov has built a solid reputation for fighting above his weight class, and this trend continued at the penultimate round of the ADAC MX Masters series at Gaildorf in Germany. A gloomy sky hung over Gaildorf's legendary scenery, but despite a nip in the air, the racing action was poker hot. As was the case throughout the series, Aleksandr took a pocket knife to a sword fight, seeing as he was mounted on a 250cc bike against the 450cc brutes of the opposition. This has never deterred him before, and the Esta-backed rider stormed to fifth position in the qualifying session on his Bodo Schmidt Suzuki.

The first race delivered a bagful of problems right from the outset when Swiss star Arnaud Tonus went down in the first corner. The melee drew Aleksandr's bike like a magnet and he went down as well, dropping him to last in the field. The power deficit that he was lumbered with did not exactly promote rapid progress through the field, and to add to this, the track was pretty much one -lined, making passing difficult. Nonetheless, the Russian teenager fought on and hauled himself into the points, crossing the line in 19th position.

A start just inside the top 20 launched Aleksandr straight into the points, but yet again with a lot of work to do. He made the best of the cards he was dealt with, and improved to thirteenth by the fall of the flag. The trouble-filled outings kept the teenager to a relatively modest sixteenth overall for the day, but it was still enough to lift him to fourteenth in the championship standings.

Full results are available online.

This report is available online.

Reporting by Tinus Nel