In the second Prestige final,
it was Beta AG Racing's Alfredo
Gomez who took the holeshot,
ahead of Rieju Factory Team's
Dominik Olszowy. Olszowy over-
took Gomez in the rock garden
to lead, as the Stark Future duo
of Karlsson and Martyn, plus
Walker and Bolt, chased him
down. Within a lap, Karlsson
pushed his way past Olszowy,
and as the Rieju rider fought
back, it was Walker who capital-
ized on both riders to force his
Triumph into the lead. However,
Bolt was on a charge, and mir-
roring his move in the first final
race, he jumped past Walker
exiting the rock garden to begin
lap four in the lead. From there,
Bolt was mistake-free and raced
to a comfortable win. Behind
him, Walker collided with a back-
marker and slipped back to fifth,
while Karlsson and Martyn went
on to finish second and third,
respectively, with Mitch Bright-
more fourth.
The third and final Prestige
race had the fans on their feet.
Martyn grabbed the holeshot, but
it was short-lived, with his Stark
Future teammate Karlsson rac-
ing past him in the rock garden.
Caught in traffic off the start,
Bolt was in overdrive as he raced
his way forward in command-
ing style. Mixing up his lines to
avoid the deepening holes, he
worked his way past Martyn for
second on lap four and set about
closing the gap to Karlsson. Two
laps later, the Husqvarna rider
was leading and would go on to
secure his third race win of the
night. In the fight for second,
Mitch Brightmore got by Karls-
son with three laps to go, forcing
the Swede to settle for an even-
tual third. Martyn finished two
seconds behind in fourth, while
Walker was fifth.
For the fifth time in succes-
sion, in this championship, Bolt
claimed the top step of the
Prestige podium. Strong and
consistent when it counted,
Mitch Brightmore raced his way
to second overall. Claiming his
second visit to the podium this
season, Karlsson completed the
top three. Delivering arguably his
best performance of the champi-
onship to date, Martyn went 4-3-
4 for fourth overall. Hampered
by crashes, Walker had to settle
for fifth.
"It's been another good night,
with great battles, but terrible
starts," Bolt said. "The guys
pushed me hard tonight, and I
had to stay sharp to get to the
front. On the whole, taking 63
points here in Serbia is fantas-
tic."
CN
OVERALL (Top 5)
1. Billy Bolt (Hus) 1-1-1
2. Mitch Brightmore (GG) 2-4-2
3. Eddie Karlsson (Sta) 5-2-3
4. Toby Martyn (Sta) 4-3-4
5. Jonny Walker (Tri) 3-5-5
VOLUME ISSUE FEBRUARY , P53
(Left) A pair of second places and
a fourth in Belgrade resulted in the
runner-up spot on the podium for
Mitch Brightmore. (Right) Eddie
Karlsson raced his Stark Future bike
to a commendable third overall.
