Tyre problem slows Mika Kallio at Dutch 250cc GP
Mika Kallio rode a courageous 250 cc GP at Assen on Saturday
coming from behind to third place before all hopes of a podium
faded when he experienced tyre troubles.
In what has been a difficult weekend for the Finnish championship
leader he made a dramatic recovery from the difficulties in
setting up his Red Bull KTM 250 for the fast and challenging
Assen circuit. He stormed to the front group of riders, holding
fifth, fourth and even third place on the opening laps. But
the tyre trouble intervened. He slipped back to finish in
seventh place, which left him holding onto his world championship
lead by one single point.
Team-mate Hiroshi Aoyama, who had been even further back on
the grid in thirteenth position, also worked his way up through
the ranks to eventually finish in sixth place ahead of Kallio.
Repsol KTM rider Julian Simon rode to a lonely tenth place.
Mika Kallio (Red Bull KTM 250 - seventh in 1:40.849)
"Things were better in the race than in practice, even
though we couldn't find a perfect set-up like we did last
week in Donington. I still managed to break into the top five
early on in the race, and I even thought of making a podium
finish at some stage. The bike felt good and I was able to
push, but after about ten laps I felt that something wasn't
correct. I sensed a small vibration and started to lose a
little bit of rear grip, and then this vibration started to
get worse and worse. In the end it got so bad that the rear
wheel started to jump. I couldn't push any more, and other
guys started to overtake me. It turned out that my rear tyre
was completely destroyed. Considering that, seventh place
is still not bad, so I guess I was lucky and unlucky at the
same time!"
Hiroshi Aoyama (Red Bull KTM 250 - sixth)
"I was the best KTM rider in the race classification
today, but I can't be satisfied with that, because we are
aiming much higher than a sixth place. Normally, there is
quite a good performance balance between us and our competitors,
but for some reason, Assen was a very tough race for KTM,
as the Aprilia riders had a little advantage here. We tried
to improve in all practice sessions, but we couldn't quite
close the gap. Never mind, I think that the next track, the
German Sachsenring, will be better for us. There is room to
improve my set-up and my riding, but my general feeling with
the bike is good!"
Harald Bartol (Technical Director)
"It is very unfortunate for Mika to miss out on a podium
finish with a problem like that. The tyre was out of balance
and jumped a lot, and it was worn out completely. It's the
second time this year that we were slowed by a tyre problem,
which is not good."
Results
1. Alvaro |Bautista, Spain, Aprilia 40:54.117
2. Thomas Luthi, Switzerland. Aprilia, 40:58.714
3. Marco Simoncelli, Italy, Gilera, 41:00.120
4. Alex Debon, Spain. Aprilia, 41:03.151
5. Hector Barbera, Spain, Aprilia, 41:03.196
6. Hiroshi Aoyama, Japan, KTM, 41:05.632
7. Mika Kallio, Finland, KTM, 41:06.9
10. Julien Simon, Spain, KTM, 41:22.906
Standings
1. Mika Kallio, Finland, KTM 140
2. Marco Simoncelli, Italy, 139
3. Alex Debon, Spain, 114
4. Alvaro Bautista, Spain, 102
5. Mattia Pasini, Italy, 98
Other KTM
7. Hiroshi Aoyama, Japan, KTM 90
10. Julian Simon, Spain, Repsol KTM 250 cc 57
28.06.2008
Esteve Rabat leads in rain-soaked 125 cc race at Assen: finishes
sixth
The 125cc Grand Prix at Assen on Saturday was eventful and
plagued with changing weather that red flagged the race, punctuated
with crashes after just nine laps. Five laps were raced in
part two for the final result.
KTM rider Esteve Rabat held onto the lead in the second part
of the race and looked set for a top finish when he ran wide
in the final stages and had to settle for sixth.
Repsol KTM rookie Marc Marquez was also a victim of the weather.
He crashed in the final stages of the first laps after having
battled his way to fifth position. He was unable to get back
to the pits with his bike in time for the restart and missed
out on the second heat altogether. Red Bull KTM rider Randy
Krummenacher also crashed in the first part of the race, but
continued with a lonely ride at the end of the field. His
efforts were rewarded after the re-start, when the Swiss teenager
managed to score nineteenth position.
Esteve Rabat (Repsol KTM 125 - sixth)
"This was an incredible and difficult race. I was able
to hang on to the leaders, and when I saw an opportunity to
attack on the last lap, I gave it all and passed the others
to take the lead under brakes. I kept pushing, but then I
went into another turn a little early, and ran wide on the
corner exit, so the others passed me again. But you learn
from such experiences, and I am still very happy with our
result. I want to thank KTM and my team for all their support,
because we made a big step last week in Donington Park, and
now another big step here. I am very confident for the next
races to come!"
Randy Krummenacher (Red Bull KTM 125 - nineteenth)
"I had a good start, but then I couldn't overtake straight
away. But I saw that I was able to go fast and keep the pace
of the top riders. I overtook two of the other guys before
the chicane, and then I was a little too fast going into these
turns. The grip level there wasn't that high after the rain,
and it was just slippery enough for me to crash. My re-start
was good again, but if you really want to make it to the front,
you need to be very hard on the brakes. We had decided to
go for cut slicks which was a mistake because the track dried
up again, and I felt the limit of the tyre grip very early
on, and couldn't brake late enough. The positive thing is
that I saw that I can ride within the top five. My aim for
the next race in Germany is to show exactly that!"
Harald Bartol (Technical Director)
"The 125 cc race was exciting to watch, and Esteve was
very close to win the race. He made a little mistake in the
end, but nevertheless, it was a fantastic performance!"
Results (after five laps of restarted race)
1. Gabor Talmacsi, Hungary Aprilia, 9:04.520
2. Joan Olive, Spain, Derbi, 9:04.648
3. Simone Corsi, Italy, Aprilia, 9:04.775
4. Sandro Cortese, Germany, Aprilia, 9:04.860
5. Bradley Smith, Britain, Aprilia, 9:04.945
6. Esteve Rabat, Spain, Repsol KTM 125cc, 9:05.088
Other KTM
10. Raffaele de Rosa, Italy, Onde 2000 KTM, 9'07.074
13. Tomoyoshi Koyama, Japan, ISPA KTM Aran, 9'07.721
19. Randy Krummenacher, Switzerland, Red Bull KTM, 9'15.163
20. Pablo Nieto, Spain, Onde 2000 KTM, 9'15.369
Standings
1. Mike de Meglio, France, 141 points
2. Simone Corsi, Italy, 125
3. Joan Olive, Spain, 94
4. Gabor Talmacsi, Hungary, 93
5. Nicolas Terol, Spain, 82
Other KTM
14 Raffaele deRosa, Italy, Onde 2000 KTM 30
15. Marc Marquez, Spain, Repsol KTM 125cc 26
17. Esteve Rabat, Spain, Repsol KTM 125cc 24
18. Tomoyoshi Koyama, Japan, ISPA KTM Aran, 22
22. Pablo Nieto, Spain, Onde 2000 KTM 11
23. Lorenzo Zanetti, Italy, ISPA KTM Aran, 10
24. Randy Krummenacher, Switzerland, Red Bull KTM 125 10
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