England's Jamie Elson and Australian Marcus Fraser set a new course record of seven under par 65 at the amended Moscow Golf and Country Club course at the BMW Russian Open today.
That put Fraser on top of the leaderboard with a with an 11 under par second round total of 133 - with Elson one shot back alongside his compatriot David Ryles and Martin Wiegele of Austria on 10 under.
Elson, a member of the victorious 2001 Walker Cup team that triumphed at Sea Island, Georgia, admitted that he could have gone lower than 65, but was happy with his performance as he seeks his second victory since turning professional in March this year.
"I missed a three foot putt for birdie on 16 but I missed a few putts like that today," admitted Elson.
"In saying that I had a couple of nice ones from 20 feet and 15 feet so I'm not complaining too much.
The Kenilworth-born 22-year-old - son of former European Tour player Pip Elson - is looking to follow the progress of his former Walker Cup team-mates such as Luke Donald, Nick Dougherty and Graeme McDowell who have all gone on to establish themselves as three of the most promising young British players for a generation.
Elson knows he has the talent to match them - even if it does take a while to shine through his modest exterior.
"I find it quite hard to look at myself and think I'm going to make it and all the rest of it," continued Elson.
"Most of my friends say to me that I'll get my European Tour card for next year but I tend not to think about all that and just go out and play really.
"I don't like to put pressure on myself, but I suppose I was able to compete with all those guys as an amateur so there's no reason why I can't compete with them now."
Ryles - like Wiegele - supplemented his opening round 68 with a second day 66 and was delighted with his performance, given that he has not been happy with his game for the past few weeks.
"I haven't been particularly happy with how I've been hitting the ball for the last couple of weeks but I know which direction it's going which helps a lot on the golf course," admitted Ryles.
"That might seem a bit silly - I shouldn't really worry about how I'm hitting it.
"Golf's pretty much all short game now anyway. Most of the guys out here can hit it pretty similar, it's just whether or not you can make your putts and put your wedges close."
There are another three players tied for fifth place on nine under, with Andrew Coltart and Mark Davis a further shot back after firing 67 and 69 respectively for an eight under par total of 136.
A total of 77 players made the weekend cut of two under par 142.