A broken finger meant battling Brit Brad Anderson had to ride through the pain barrier in today’s Imola GP EMX300 race and he held on for a stunning fifth place.

His arch rival Mike Kras ran away with the moto to reduce Ando’s points lead from 27 to 18. But that just means Anderson needs a 13th or better – if Kras wins – to retain the EMX300 title.

Ando snatched the holeshot but just was not able to be his usual aggressive self and riders lined up to pass him. He dropped back to just inside the top 10 as rider he would normally beat easily got the better of him.

But as some riders fell or had bike issues, he kept going and took a heroic fifth place.