Kaufmanis back as pilot to win Latvian bobsleigh title by two hundredths of a second

Dāvis Kaufmanis and brakeman Edgars Ungurs won the Latvian two-man bobsleigh championship in Sigulda on Thursday, the first national championship held on the track for several years. They beat Jēkabs Kalenda and Matīss Miknis by two hundredths of a second over two runs, the Latvian Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation said.

Decided on the second run

Kalenda and Miknis led after the first run in 49.78 seconds, seven hundredths ahead of Kaufmanis and Ungurs. Both crews had the same start time of 4.95 seconds. On the second run the Kaufmanis crew were four hundredths quicker at the start, while Kalenda's sled lost three hundredths at the top of the track, which was enough to put Kaufmanis ahead overall.

Renārs Grantiņš and Nils Meijers were third. They were close to the leaders after the first run but made more mistakes on the second and finished 0.43 seconds behind the winners. Mairis Kļava and Ralfs Bērziņš were fourth. Amēlija Kotāne and Andris Skadiņš also competed in the monobob.

From brakeman back to pilot

Kaufmanis switched from pilot to brakeman three years ago but is driving Latvian sleds again this season. Emīls Cipulis, the national team's head coach, said the results were good: the start times were in line with the early stage of the season and the first three pilots were driving well.

The Latvian bobsleigh team will start the season in the European Cup, which opens at the Lillehammer track in Norway on 27 November.