Brad Brunner ……alias Bracula!
Brad was born on February 26th, 1997 in Bucharest from Andy Brunner, a former pilot with a fairly impressive palmares, particularly in Rally-raids, and Diana Brunner.
From the very beginning, Brad has shown a particular interest and inclination for speeding and racing, regardless of that being with a tricycle, a pair of rollerblades or a skateboard.
Brad, at the age of 3
From 3 to 4…
Brad is already showing good grasp of the matter at hand, attacking every hill, both up and down, with his racing bicycle…
At three and a half
He receives his first 50cc motorbike and a puffo go-kart, with which he starts training, under the expert guidance of his father, Andy
One year later…
Julien Poncelet, the karting European title holder comes to Bucharest for the opening of the Auto Show, guest of Createc Racing. When he sees Brad during a demonstration he is literally stunned: Julien admits he has never seen a child of Brad's age with such driving skills before. "Look after him very carefully! Brad has an amazing potential".
First race
In September 2002 at the age of 5, Brad takes part in his very first race, in the Romanian Championship Puffo Category, one normally opened to children aged between 7 and 9.
The qualifying session sees Brad placing his kart in the first raw, with the 2nd best time. This is too much for some of the parents, therefore Brad is disqualified because his kart is …too small. He starts the race as 15th, that is from the last place on the grid, and although he manages to overtake quite a number of fellow mini-pilots to end the race on the podium, as third, Brad is still very upset he did not manage to win…
Pit-stop
In June 2002, in what is his only third race, after having won, Brad hits the margin of an unprotected side-walk and has a very bad crash. Rushed to the nearby hospital with a broken arm, he undergoes surgery a first time.
Unfortunately, for some reason, he also develops some sort of infection and the doctors decide to operate on him a second time in Bucharest, but unsuccessfully.
After a few weeks of struggling, Andy and Diana decide to take Brad to the Kinderspital in Zürich. There, he spends almost 2 months and undergoes surgery for the third time. Brad comes back to Romania but has to take antibiotics for a further three months.
Natural born driver
Back to work
7 months after the crash, with his arm still plastered, Brad goes back to work. On the icy lakes around Brasov, where the required effort is minimized, driving one-handed, Brad is back to training and shows no signs of fear.
Brad & Bas, November '03
2003 Romanian National Champion in the Puffo category.
With his first ever pole-position and an undisputed victory, the 2003 season kicks-off in the best possible way for Brad.
Actually, he will be able to dominate in the same way throughout the whole season, showing all his qualities: determination, aggressiveness and an uncommon maturity for a child of his age. At 6 years and 6 months he becomes the youngest ever Champion of the Romanian National Karting, Puffo category.
In conclusion
In conclusion we'd dare to say that despite his young age, we already see in Brad all the necessary skills and qualities to one day become a top pilot. He is extremely determined, ambitious and very talented, and of course very passionate about racing. He is very much appreciated by the MEDIAS and, last but not least, … doesn't look like he'll ever stand a chance to become a professional basketball player…
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