Buy photos » Brandonapolis winner Linus Sundstrom pictured with his trophy. (S) Photo by Jeff Davies
PETERBOROUGH star Linus Sundstrom praised the Brandon track after he emerged as the surprise winner of a wide-open Brandonapolis.
The young Swede was consistent throughout the meeting on Friday, beating defending champion Hans Anderson into second in the final while Bees star man Scott Nicholls was third.
Andersen and Nicholls qualified straight to the final, while Sundstrom triumphed in a re-run of his semi-final after a crash involving Bees stars Chris Harris and Edward Kennett.
"Coventry is one of my favourite tracks in the league. It’s always well-prepared and I enjoy coming here," said Sundstrom.
"It’s a very good way for me to start my season. It’s always hard in the first couple of meetings but I felt like I got into it fairly quickly.
"I only won my last race in the qualifiers, but I was consistent and that was enough.
"I was a bit lucky when Chris came off, but I didn’t have any gate pick for the final, I got gate two and there was nothing wrong with it!"
The event proved to be thrilling for the fans and riders with over half of the field in contention for semi-final places going into the final set of qualifying races.
Andersen and Rory Schlein set the early pace with two wins out of two, while Harris seized an engine in Heat 4.
Schlein was out of contention in Heat 11 when he was forced to withdraw through injury following a clash with Ryan Fisher.
Hopes of a home win were alive when Harris won Heat 11 and Kennett looked in contention but the two clashed in the semi final.
Along with Schlein, another withdrawal was Bees reserve Jason Bunyan, a late call-up for the meeting, who was taken to hospital suffering from concussion and a foot injury after a heavy first-bend spill in Heat 4.
Buy photos» Finalists Linus Sundstrom, Hans Andersen and Bees man Scott Nicholls battle it out in the final. (S) Photo by Jeff Davies
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