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The Real Cycle People
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STRONG FINISH FOR KRP

KRP's Robbie Stewart secured second place in the British 125GP Championship in the final round at Brands Hatch but missed out on a fourth successive victory in the series by just 0.19 secs in a dramatic finish at the Kent track.

The Scottish teenager was forced to battle through the field after making a terrible start in the re-run race at the ultra-short Indy circuit. He caught the leaders but left himself too much to do on the last lap and lost out to new champion Luke Jones by the width of a tyre.

Practice and qualifying went smoothly for Team KRP. Stewart and Anthony Rogers started the race on the front row, Tom Hayward and Nikki Coates lined up on row three and new ACU MotoStar 125GP Champion Martin Glossop was 16th on the 40 bike grid. But poor starts and an eventful first few laps left Glossop in the gravel and Stewart and Rogers with plenty of work to do.

"The set up for the short circuit at Brands makes starting a bit tricky and although Tom and Nikki got away reasonably well, Robbie and Anthony didn't," explained team boss Mark Keen. "Then Anthony got punted onto the grass at Graham Hill Bend and Martin made a mistake and crashed out at Paddock."

The early pace did not stretch the front runners and Stewart found himself in the middle of a 13 bike freight train as the race started to settle down. But as he tried to move up the order his timing seemed slightly off and unsuccessful attempts to pass the riders in front of him resulted in him being vulnerable to attack from behind. Then the young Scot found his rhythm and he was snapping at the heels of third placed Ashley Beech when the race was red flagged after a crash at Clearways.

Shortened to an eight lap dash, the race was re-started with grid positions according to the race order at the time of the stoppage. Stewart struggled to get off the line once more and was 12th into Paddock Hill Bend on the first lap, but this time he cut quickly and confidently through the field before putting in the fastest two laps of the race to catch leaders Jones and Beech with a lap and a half to go.

After making a decisive pass on Beech, Stewart touched Jones' rear wheel at Druids on the last lap and lost ground. The race seemed over but the teenager clawed his way back into contention and was alongside Jones as the pair flashed across the line on the final run out of Clearways. Just 2.7 secs behind the winner, Hayward nicked fifth place from Coates by 0.002 secs on the run to the chequered flag. And a further 4.6 secs back Rogers picked up four championship points in twelfth.

Keen said: "Tom was strong all weekend and rode as well as he has all year and we are all pleased things are starting to gel again for Nikki after a tough final third of the season. Anthony got another terrible start and he was about 22nd away so it was an achievement for him to finish where he did. Once again, the result will not show how well he is riding. He is good enough to have been fighting with the leaders."

A fortnight before the Brands Hatch BSB finale, Stewart won the 125GP race at the Jock Taylor Memorial Meeting at Knockhill in Fife, with Coates a steady third after surviving an early scare on cold tyres. Next weekend the team is heading to Coates' homeland where the Irishman and Stewart will be competing at the Sunflower Trophy meeting at Bishopscourt. Then the Buckinghamshire based squad will sail to Spain for the last two rounds of the Spanish Championship, the toughest domestic 125GP series in the world.

"I am excited about getting back to the Spanish Championship," said Keen. "Robbie is on good form and things are starting to come together again for Nikki too. And the team has learned a lot this year so we are all up for another crack at it."

KRP would like to thank all its sponsors and helpers for their assistance in 2007 and the team is looking forward to renewed success in 2008.

Reports from other rounds.

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