Justin Brayton (10) challenges Malcolm Stewart (50) for the holeshot on Sunday night at the Supercross Sofia in Bulgaria. Brayton went on to win the inaugural event with a combined 3-1 score. Photography by Michael Antonovich
Bulgaria is looking to put itself on the map in the world of Supercross, and did so by bringing some of the world’s best together for 2015 Supercross Sofia. The Halloween weekend saw riders such as Justin Brayton, Weston Peick, Malcolm Stewart, Phil Nicoletti and Mike Brown lining up for the Monster Energy-backed event. In the end, BTOSports.com rider Justin Brayton was crowned the very first “King of Sofia.”
The small arena-style track was the setting for the inaugural race, which counted points from two nights of racing plus added points for qualifying and hot laps to determine the winner. Brayton’s third place on Saturday night and first place on Sunday night combined with his hot lap and qualifying points earned him the crown in Sofia.
Peick was the winner of night one, as he took the main event victory ahead of Malcolm Stewart and Brayton. Josh Hansen finished fourth ahead of Brian Hsu (a rising star in the MXGP series) and veteran Mike Brown.
Peick got out to a strong start right behind Phil Nicoletti, but soon moved into the lead when Nicoletti had a mishap that resulted in an injured ankle. For the first half of the main event, Brayton wasn’t far off, Peick never yielded the lead. Brayton, on the other hand, couldn’t fend off the hard charging Honda of Stewart, and gave up the runner-up position just after the halfway point.
Nicoletti returned to action on Sunday, but didn’t have as strong a night. He got out to a mid-pack start and only made his way up to fourth place. Meanwhile it was Brayton’s turn to run out front. Peick tried in earnest to run down Brayton, but couldn’t close the gap. Stewart followed in third, but not close enough to challenge Peick.
Josh Hansen finished fifth behind Nicoletti followed by Brown and Hsu. Stewart collected second overall at the event while Peick rounded out the podium in third.
Saturday Results:
1. Weston Peick (Yam)
2. Malcolm Stewart (Hon)
3. Justin Brayton (KTM)
4. Josh Hansen (Kaw)
5. Brian Hsu (Suz)
6. Mike Brown (Hus)
7. Alexander Heu (KTM)
8. Jurgen Wybo (Hus)
9. Maik Schaller (KTM)
10. Michael Kartenberg (KTM)
Sunday Results:
1. Justin Brayton (KTM)
2. Weston Peick (Yam)
3. Malcolm Stewart (Hon)
4. Phil Nicoletti (Yam)
5. Josh Hansen (Kaw)
6. Mike Brown (Hus)
7. Brian Hsu (Suz)
8. Jurgen Wybo (Hus)
9. Phillip Eggers (Yam)
10. Michael Kartenberg (KTM)