CR500 vs 450 4 Stroke's in EPIC Mud Race Championship Finale | For the Love of 2 Strokes

What's up guys, I'm Max and this is 999 Laser. We're back at the races here today with Neville Bradshaw and his 22 year old CR500 for the last dance. However, today it's not just a full field of modern 450s he has to fight. Today Big Red must battle mother nature herself. It's going to be a wild ride So stick around, hold on to your hat and remember it's all for the love of two strokes. Losing isn't the same as failing. As the Russian chess grandmaster Vladimir Kramnik once said, the way one plays chess always reflects the player's personality. If something defines his character, then it will also define his way of playing. This ethos isn't just confined to chess. A racer is also defined by his character. Neville Bradshaw lost at round three, but his character will not allow him to fail. The South African has moved past his technical issues and he has determined to find redemption at the fourth and final round. The challenges that face him are harsher than ever, but failure is not an option. The board is set and the pieces are in play. We're in the endgame now. Previously on For the Love of Two Strokes, Neville Bradshaw has proved again and again the worth of his character and the might of his sheen. At round one of the 2020 AMCA Championships, both man and machine shot the world. The 500cc two-stroke was victorious once again. Bradshaw looked to repeat the impossible at round two and although a race win eluded the veteran racer and his 22-year-old machine, a second straight podium result kept him in the championship fight. Round three, however, would prove to be the toughest day yet. But as we know, a racer is defined by his character. Mechanical issues plagued Bradshaw's day, relegating him from the championship fight. But the 272 doesn't know how to quit. That word just isn't in his vocabulary. And there looks like the 272 machine has got a good jump. He closes the door on Chatfield. Neville Bradshaw has grabbed the whole shot on the Big Red CR500. And now the showman is back for one final ride. The championship returns to Long Lane for the conclusion of the 2020 season. And this is it for Big Red. The old girl has been treated to one last dance and Mother Nature has made sure that this will be the harshest test yet. The end is here. There, fourth round here. Mother Nature's here. What's going through your mind coming into the day? Obviously, the track's a little bit soggy out there. Yeah, it's going to be a rough day's racing, I think. But the track's actually quite hard underneath. It's got like a layout slop on the top, so it's going to be a tough day there. The 500's quite hard to ride in the wet because but let's try to get the best start we can and I think it'll be like more of a survival type of race and it will be like a proper race. So you've had qualifying, you was seven? Seven, yeah, seven qualifying. Happy with that? I only did two laps. So you're literally first or second? Yeah, I did the one starting lap and then two qualifying laps and then I came in. I was pulling when I came in, but I knew I dropped and I knew the first pull then I tried to stay in the top ten for the ride. But yeah, just got to try to save the bike for the photos. Obviously, I've seen you at Scram Post last couple of days. What are your feelings about sending out big Reddit to the unknown out there today? Yeah, that's the only thing that sucks about it now. Like I was saying to JP, when you're racing conditions like this and you're getting paid to do it and it's your job and it's not your own bike and it's not your own equipment. You've got a job to do. It's your own stuff. It's a bit different. It's a bit different when you're going to make five or six hundred bucks at the end of it. But then like this is all my personal stuff. So, you know, I'm just not keen to mess my bike up. That's the biggest thing. I don't mind riding conditions like this. I actually quite enjoy it. I just know like you're so hard on the clutch and you can hear the brake pads. But it is what it is that we have. So we're going to race and do the best we can. Give it everything. Sweet. Race one coming up next. Let's do it. Here we are at the beginning of the end. It's the final round of the 2020 AMCA Championship here at Long Lane. In the MX1 class, we've got a few new recruits to keep an eye on. Luke Hawkins and James Mackerel could both be threats at the front of the pack. After a disaster at round three, Neville Bradshaw will be looking for redemption here on board the big red CR500. He's picked the inside gate in this one. Let's get the first moto of the day underway. So who's going to grab the first hole shot of the day here? It looks like Luke Burton on the red 14 machine has grabbed the hole shot. Yes, he has. Closely followed by Skoda Webster and the James Mackerel. Neville Bradshaw's inside line didn't look as though it panned out too well for him. But we're expecting carnage early on in this race in these tough conditions here at Long Lane. And there we go, carnage already. Corey Southwood goes down, allowing Neville Bradshaw to pick up two places there. And another mistake, another crash there. Ashley Greedy goes down. So another position gifted to Nevster272. He moves up into fifth in the early stages of this moto. As we've already seen, this track is treacherous. At the moment, Mother Nature was not kind coming into the weekend. But if we're being honest, the track in much better shape than we first anticipated. Don't get me wrong, it's tough, it's wet, especially for this old bike. But the condition is much better than we first thought, that's for sure. Bradshaw in fifth now. He's chasing down Tommy Alba on the 681 KTM and Scooter Webster on the 127 Yamaha. In front of them is James Mackle and Luke Burton, the series points leader. They are battling for the top position at the moment. Bradshaw in that inside line is caught onto the rear wheel of Alba then. So Bradshaw looking to move forward early on in this moto as they come around to complete lap number one. These conditions are tough at the best of times, let alone when you're riding a 22 year old CR500. So it's going to be a long day for Neville Bradshaw here. But as we know, the South African is a man of steel and he will push on until the very last moment of each and every race. It looks like Tommy Alba's made the move on Scooter Webster there to take over third position. Neville Bradshaw is going to have to try and follow suit as quickly as he can. He doesn't want Tommy Alba to stretch away too far. So he's going to have to try and make a move on Scooter Webster and here he is side by side, bar to bar through the ribbon lane and Bradshaw will make the pass. Dick then on Scooter Webster to move into fourth place. So Bradshaw now sets his sights on Tommy Alba on the KTM 681 machine. Can he try and close that gap? There's Tommy Alba and there's Neville Bradshaw, the 272. A strong effort from him in this race so far. Well what can he do about Tommy Alba? It looks like the KTM machine is stretching away slightly. Just look how deep those ruts are. Bradshaw maybe losing touch on Alba slightly as he's dealing with these back markers, these top riders already coming around to the lap riders. So that's another obstacle they have to manoeuvre here in this race. Heavy lap traffic. It looks as though Bradshaw's having a slight issue with this back marker here holding him up slightly and that's allowed Ashley Greedy and Josh Wattsman to close in on the rear wheel of Neve Bradshaw. So as Nevster takes the last lap flagged then he's got to be careful because Ashley Greedy and Josh Wattsman are right there. He's got to be careful, he's got to watch his back because we know Greedy will push forward and try and make that last stitch pass wherever he can. So Bradshaw has got to be careful because there's Greedy and Wattsman not too far behind but it looks as though Neville Bradshaw has been able to hold on. He's weathered that storm and he crosses the line to take fourth place in moto number one. Certainly not a bad start to the day for Neville Bradshaw. The MX1 warriors are getting ready to go for race number two. Gate choice is key here today with these wet and sloppy conditions getting around that first corner in a top position is critical. Neville Bradshaw opted for an inside gate pick in moto number one and that choice didn't really pan out too well for the 272 machine. So it looks as though he's opting for an outside gate this time around and he's going to be hoping to come around that first turn in a leading position. In terms of the championship then Luke Burton sits pretty at the top of the points standings. The number 14 Honda machine had another great ride in moto number one here today and it's looking as though the championship is heading his way but as we know anything can happen in the sport that we call motocross. Our MX1 pilots are getting racked up and ready for the penultimate race of 2020. Who's going to grab the whole shot? We're about to find out. Burton sweeps around the outside. Hawkins pushes him wide and it's Neville Bradshaw in second place. So the number eight machine leads the 272 early on in moto number two of the day here at Longway. Hawkins leads on the case here. Bradshaw on the inside can't quite make the move stick there but he's looking hungry early on in this moto. The 272 back at the front of the pack. Bradshaw looking and searching for some passing lines early on in this race. The riders don't get a sighting lap so they're going out blind so to speak and Bradshaw desperately searching early on for a place to pass. He knows he's got a hungry pack of riders behind him and if he wants this race win for himself he's going to have to stretch away early on as he does have the serious points leader Luke Burton lurking right there behind him. So Bradshaw looking to make a pass on Hawkins as quickly as feasibly possible here in race number two. So it's Hawkins leading Bradshaw who leads Burton. That's our top three. The track coming around now after moto number one. It's still the conditions very tough especially for the old big red. Through the ribbon lane for the first time there. Double, double for Bradshaw can get through there cleanly. On the gas here at young big red chasing Luke Hawkins the early race leader. The crowd cheering on the 22 year old machine and the 37 year old pilot. Certainly a fan favorite. Oh a slight mistake there for Luke Hawkins has allowed level Bradshaw to close in on the rear wheel of the number eight KTM. But he's yet to find a place to make a move to take over the race lead. As we said Bradshaw is having to play offensive and defensive all at the same time as he attacked Luke Hawkins while defending against Luke Burton. He's in a Luke sandwich at the moment. So far so good but Bradshaw is holding strong in that second position. Just look how deep these runs are now in the second moto for the day. The track's only going to get gnarlier from here on out. The leading riders coming back through the ribbon lane then over the stubble and then a double. Double section for Bradshaw, Hawkins and Burton. It's a three-way fight for the lead and this is what we all want to see at the final round of the season. Some top class racing just like this. Throw a blanket over the top three riders now. Bradshaw yet to find a place to capitalise. He's trying to use those two stroke lines going wide. He is on the hunt. He knows he needs to make a pass on Hawkins because Burton is looking dangerous. The current points leader who's looking to tie up that championship here today. Bradshaw goes wide. Open up the door for Burton and yes Burton does make the pass then. So Bradshaw is shuffled back to third place. Luke Burton the serious points leader moves into second position. He now chases Luke Hawkins, the race leader. Can Bradshaw retaliate or is that going to knock the wind out of his sails? Bradshaw manoeuvres past a lap rider. It looks as though he's responding well to this. He's not allowing those leading riders to stretch away too far. Big Red still on the gas. Luke Burton makes the pass for the lead then. So Burton into the race lead. He makes a nice pass on Luke Hawkins. So the number 14 Honda is now the race leader. Hawkins in second and Bradshaw in third. Bradshaw smells blood in the water now. He's looking to make another attack on Hawkins to strike another blow on the number eight machine. Luke Hawkins has been on the rear wheel of Hawkins for a while. A slight mistake from Hawkins has allowed Bradshaw to close in on his rear wheel. They're almost bar to bar over the storm wall. Bradshaw pulls the trigger on the double double section whereas Hawkins does not allow Bradshaw to move into second position then. So Big Red into second around Luke Hawkins. As Big Red takes the last lap flag then. It looks like the distance to the race leader, Luke Burton, is just a bit too much for Bradshaw as he deals with back markers here on this final lap of action. But what a ride for Big Red fighting back into second position in a late charge. He comes through the rip lane for the final time. Big Red takes the final quarter on the gas and Neville Bradshaw crosses the line in second position. What a fight from Big Red there and that sets him up nicely for an overall podium result. Let's see if he can finish off the season on a high in moto number three. This is it. The end game. The final race. The last ride for Big Red and what a ride it's been. It's time for the third and final moto of the day. The 2020 season ends here. This is the last stance for Neville Bradshaw and Big Red. Can he finish the season on a high though? The gates have dropped then. Who's going to grab the final hot shot of 2020? It's Luke Hawkins. Oh no, it's James Mackerel with the early race lead then. Big Red, Neville Bradshaw up the front as well. We've got Mackerel, Hawkins, Greedy, Todd, Chatfield, Bradshaw, all the big hitters up front early on in this final moto of 2020. This is the way we wanted to see this season end. All the big hitters up front early on. This race is going to be awesome. Bradshaw sits in fifth place then as our top riders are shuffling around early on. And Chatfield dives up the inside knocking Bradshaw back into sixth. But Neville responds back immediately to retake fifth position from Adam Chatfield then. And as I said, our top riders shuffling around early on in this moto. It's an intense start already as Tommy Alba makes a move on Adam Chatfield. So Chatfield loses two spots there in just the space of a couple of corners. These riders have to keep on their toes then because everyone's feisty in this final moto of the season. Everyone's got a point to prove here to finish out the year on a high note. And this track is gnarly as it's ever going to be here today in this final moto. So there's our race leader then, James Mackerel, the Irish lad. He leads Vic Hawkins, the two newcomers. And it's James Dodd, Ashley Greedy and Neville Bradshaw there in fifth place. Oh but Dodd and Bradshaw fail to pull the trigger on a double double section. That allows Greedy to make a move on Dodd and Tommy Alba to make a move on Neville Bradshaw. So 272 is shuffled back to sixth place and now he's passed the bar of Adam Chatfield, the 4SF Suzuki rider. And Chatfield makes a move on Bradshaw. So Bradshaw down into seventh place now. But he's looking to make a move. He's looking to retaliate back on Adam Chatfield. Can't quite make that happen there. So Chatfield's got a strong grasp on sixth position now. Bradshaw back into seventh. What a start to this final moto of 2020. An action-packed start, that's for sure. Bradshaw looking to retaliate. Respond well. But he's got the series leader and the number 14 of Luke Burton all over his rear wheel. So Burton moving forward. Burton attacking forwards now. Bradshaw's on the back of Chatfield. So it's a three-way fight for sixth place at the moment. Bradshaw, Chatfield and Burton. And Burton closes the door on Bradshaw. So Burton now has seventh position and Bradshaw is back to eighth. So it's been a rough start for 272 in the third and final moto. We're really going to see what it's made of here. Can he respond and regroup? McElmead ahead of Hawkins still. Greedy is third. Dodd and Alba passing number four. Bradshaw in eighth place. Rounding out the top eight. As we said, all of the big hitters are in the mix here in this final moto of the season. Each of these riders have the speed, the talent and the capability of grabbing a race win. It'll be interesting to see how this season ends up here. Who's going to end up on the podium coming into this final moto. Bradshaw, he did have a good chance at an overall podium spot. But as it stands right now, he won't be making the box. He's going to have to fight forwards. He wants to make that podium happen to end out the season. And it looks as though he's doing just that. He's chasing down Adam Chatfield, the 407 Suzuki pilot. Researching, desperately searching for those passing lines. He needs to move forward because the rest of the pack is not too far behind him at all. So he needs to move forward here. So Bradshaw chasing down the 407 Suzuki then. Coming into the main originator of the track. Here they are, Chatfield and Bradshaw. Seventh and eighth at the moment. Bradshaw pulls the trigger on the double-double then he commits to that line and is able to make a move on Chatfield who failed to pull the trigger on the double-double section. So with that Bradshaw has moved into seventh place. And it looks as though Josh Waterman has also been able to make the pass on Adam Chatfield then. So Chatfield shuffles back two positions there as Bradshaw and Waterman move forwards. To be honest, Josh Waterman is looking dangerous at the moment as he chases down Big Red. So now Bradshaw has to be careful. Who was, remember, the early points leader in this championship. He's also looking to finish out the season strong and he makes the move on level Bradshaw. So Bradshaw back into eighth position then as Josh Waterman moves up into seventh. So Waterman putting a late charge in this race as he is looking to finish out the season on a high note. But Bradshaw won't roll over quite that easily. He'll be looking to fight back. And as Waterman and Bradshaw battle over seventh position, it looks as though they've caught the rear wheel of James Dodd. So what once was a two-man battle in seventh is now a three-man battle. Dodd on the number 300 defends Josh Waterman who in turn defends the 272 at level Bradshaw. So it's a three-man fight for sixth position at the moment. As we said earlier, coming into this moto, Bradshaw was sitting pretty for an overall podium but he's going to have to move forward if he wants to make that happen here. A slight mistake from Waterman there in the rut has allowed Bradshaw to come alongside the number 19 Yamaha rider. Just wheel to wheel to wheel between these three here. Waterman recovers well from that mistake and shuts the door on James Dodd. So Waterman moves into sixth position. Dodd falls back to seventh and now Bradshaw has his eyes set on the number three machine then. Is James Dodd going to be the next victim for Big Red? Bradshaw all over the rear wheel of James Dodd. Searching for a passing position. These ruts are so deep now. It's going to be a tough task for Bradshaw to hold on to Big Red until the final moments of this race. He's going to dig deep. Bradshaw, look at him trying to go around the outside of James Dodd. Powers down the hill but can't quite make it happen there. Wheel to wheel action here. What a way to finish out 2020. It's such an action-packed moto. This is what we love about motocross. He's got his race. Digging deep, showing us what he's made of, showing us why he's earned so many fans this year. He's chasing down James Dodd and Josh Waterman as they come into lap traffic. Oh there, Josh Waterman goes down. Josh Waterman throws away sixth position. He's crashed there allowing James Dodd and Neville Bradshaw to move up some spots. So Dodd is now sixth, Bradshaw seventh and Bradshaw all over. This has reawakened the 272. He's all over the rear wheel of James Dodd now as they come through the ribbon lane. They are side-by-side, bar-to-bar over the stall wall and Bradshaw pulls the trigger. He nails the double-double section and he makes the move stick on James Dodd. So Neville Bradshaw into sixth position now. A late charge from the 272, Big Red machine. He's sniffing that overall podium result as he takes the last lap flag. He needs one more spot. He needs just one more spot to nail the overall podium position and look just ahead of him is a 681 machine of Tommy Alba. So can Neville Bradshaw make it happen on this last lap of action? It's going to be a tough task but he's digging deep, pushing forward and he's chasing down Tommy Alba. So Bradshaw is on the hunt now. He knows he needs this one last position to make it onto the overall podium. He's slowly but surely closing down the gap of Tommy Alba but is he going to have enough time to make that pass happen? He's got about half a lap to go and there's back markets to deal with as well. So the KTM rider in the green and black riding here just ahead of Bradshaw with a handful of corners to go. A handful of corners to go in 2020. This is it for the season. What can Big Red do coming to his favourite passing spot but it doesn't look like it's going to be close enough to make a pass happen here. This lap around it looks like Big Red is just going to run out of time. Double double for the section but not close enough to make the pass stick there. Alba down the start finish straight for the final time. Then it's Neville Bradshaw. They take the final corner and Bradshaw's just going to run out of time. He comes across the line in sick position. He'll just miss out on the overall podium. But what a heroic ride from Neville Bradshaw and what a way to end it. Day done and dusted. Stalkers through your races. Thoughts coming out of the day? Yeah, I guess you could say it was a good day. Better than expected, right? Yeah, kind of. I thought it was going to be. The track actually turned out to be kind of a gnarly, rough. Unbelievable. When I was walking out there, the videos I saw yesterday, I thought, I can't believe it's turned out like this. It did turn out pretty good to be fair, considering the weather and stuff. The first moto, I finished fourth, which is quite good for me for my first moto. Again, there's a few extra guys come from the British Championship that are doing it. So fourth was okay. But always just a normal arm pump and just tight. So I was quite happy to hang on to fourth. And then the next race was pretty good. I was battling for the- Start was good, yeah. Came around second, I think. Stayed in second. I think I got into lead for a bit. And then just, yeah, Burton passed me. I didn't have anything for him. It's just, today, what I struggle with is covering the clutch through all the turns. Because the ruts were so long, the clutch is so heavy to kind of... It was just a bit of a slog. So when I was on my own, I could just get a rhythm and ride on my own, which was good. So I finished second in that one, which is cool. And then I really wanted to get on the podium. This last race, I really wanted to go over the podium. And four and a two lines, you're pretty good for it. So that's the only thing I'm disappointed on today. The last moto, didn't get a good start. Struggled to get a flow. The first few laps were hectic. And then I started actually to come good. Got by Waterman and died at the end. Yeah, two passes in one lap. Yeah. And then I knew I had to get Alba. And I kept looking ahead because I couldn't see if he was in front of me or not. And he was way in front. And I managed to catch up to him. And then I was planning a pass in the last lap. There's one section I'm quite good. I was jumping like a turn jump and landing on the downslope and then going double double, which was quite quick. I was making like most of my passes there. And I got to him and I was thinking, okay, cool. So close. I was thinking, right, okay, I can get it. And then the chequered flag came out. I was like, I completely ruined it. But that's my own fault. I didn't see the last left flag. So I finished, I came through about sixth in that one, but it's just intense, isn't it? Like the top ten guys. Eight, literally eight guys. And you think, oh, any dude here could actually win. Yeah. Yeah. You look down the list. Oh, he could win. He could win. He could win. He could win. It's a stack the class, you know, especially the new guys coming into it. So I finished well, I got fourth overall, two points on the third, which sucks. You know, it would have been nice to leave it at a podium. But still, as we said, when I look through the list, I was fourth overall. If you go down top ten, dude, there's some solid class riders there. So, you know, on modern bikes. Yeah. You know, I always remember that. That's the big thing. Like that bike is old and, you know, it is hard work to be fair. Like, you know, especially like with the cuts being so heavy and stuff and then it's on or off. There's no like talk to get you out the ruts and stuff. You've done four of these now and you kind of forget what the feeling was like at the first round when you got fifth in that first race. It was like unbelievable that you got fifth and you got sixth in that race and you're like. Yeah, no, just, you know, it's just frustrating because the only thing that frustrated me is I wanted to be on the podium. That's the only thing like because then I would have had three podiums in the series. Yeah. You know, to say, you know, like who would have said I'd be able to do that on that bike. But it's been cool, you know, like I hope it's opened up people's eyes. Like, look how we're doing it, dude. Yeah. Here on my own. Bike's dirty. No mechanic today. Easy up here. JP would have come, but I said to him not to come today because he's moved into a new house and the weather like I didn't want him to drive all the way here. And to be honest, if that was ----, I would have gone home after the first race because it's not worth messing my bike up. So I told him not to come. So fair play to him for not coming. But, you know, look how we're doing it, you know, dirty bikes all day. Bike's done. Yeah. You know, I hope. I really hope that people can. That's what I want people to see is like I've had seconds in races. I've won races, you know, I've been in the top five pretty much the whole time, twice in the podium, just missed the podium today again. So I hope people can see, you know, like you don't need a 12 grand 450 or you don't need a massive motorhome and all that sort of stuff. If you love racing, you love racing two straight, there's no excuses there. No, no, it's cool. But it has been cool. And thanks for the support. We've had some awesome support through it. And I think you guys have enjoyed watching something different for me. It's been cool to see, like, as I said, a two stroke fan and a 500 fan. Like, I'm glad that I showed the public what is possible. You know, like how many other 22 year old bikes could do? I think about zero. No chance, dude. You know, like, so it goes to show, you know, like I'm a big Honda man and the Honda brand and 22 years later, you know, you can still be top three on a good championship. So your Instagram post said that it's going into retirement or semi retirement now. Yeah. Going to it for an easy life. Yeah. You know, like the thing is, it's just like, you know, like how hard those motors were today. It's just not what I bought that bike for, you know. I bought that bike to have a bit of fun with my mates and have a, you know, just enjoy riding a 500 because it's something that I never did. You kind of just started enjoying it too much, didn't you? Yeah, yeah. No, I know. You know, like, I just wanted to prove a point and I did. You know, like, I'm very bad like that. Like, I just, if I get something in my head and I think it's possible, I have to have a go. So we did that. And but now it's time, you know, like, you can't just keep riding those bikes like that. You know, there's a big difference between a 20 minute motor trying to catch somebody to get on a podium and then just going with the boys on a Sunday. So she's done me well though, you know, like, you know, between me and James and Roland, we've developed the bike group. We've got it to a point now where it's probably one of the favorite bikes I've ever ridden. So, you know, it's been cool. You know, and I'm 37 years old as well. You know, you don't forget that, you know, like these kids, you know, these kids are still in their prime, you know, and but it's been fun. Yeah, it's been fun. But now it is time. It's going away now. You'll see some stuff, but it won't be at a racetrack. Once again, thanks for doing this. We've all loved watching it. Everyone, all the viewers have loved watching it. So thanks again, dude. Yeah, no sweaters. Thanks, everyone. Give us a next time. I'm Max. That's Don't forget to like share and subscribe. Until next time, we'll see you at the track. Watching the clock spin round and round in my own world. I enjoyed watching series two as much as we enjoyed making it. It's been a wild ride. I want to thank you for joining us for the journey. If you love what we do here, check out our merch store to support the channel. And don't forget to check out Nev on Instagram at Nevster272. Till the next adventure, though, I'll see you next time.