Kallio and Aoyama first and second in the wet at Donington
Park
Red Bull KTM 250 star Mika Kallio was the fastest rider in
Saturday's final qualifying session for the British Grand
Prix. The result confirmed crucial setup adjustments that
Kallio and his team had worked out for the Donington Park
raceway.
Unfortunately wet weather at the British racing circuit meant
that the improvements were not reflected in the starting positions.
Kallio, normally present among the front runners, is back
at fourteenth place. But because the set-up problems were
solved on the first day of practice, the Finnish rider is
still confident that he can regain lost terrain and go for
a top position in the race.
Red Bull KTM team-mate Hiroshi Aoyama enjoyed a quicker start
into the British Grand Prix and made sure of a second row
position with sixth place in the first qualifying. But Aoyama
was also one of the heroes in Saturday's incident-packed final
qualifying session. He was not only second in the wet behind
Kallio, but also was able to maintain his balance in a spectacular
high speed off-track excursion just a minute from the end
of the session.
Repsol KTM 250 rider Julian Simon was also among the top riders
in both dry and wet conditions and will start alongside Aoyama
from seventh position on the grid.
What the KTM riders said
Mika Kallio (Red Bull KTM 250 - First in second qualifying
in 1:45.482; fourteenth overall in 1:33.595)
"Yesterday we seemed completely lost. Then we went through
our set-up, step by step, tried to rule out what might have
caused the different feeling on the bike and finally located
the problem. Now I was fastest in today's wet conditions,
which obviously doesn't help us with my grid position, but
it does confirm we are back on track. The problem seems to
be solved and we just have to wait and see what the conditions
will be like tomorrow. Maybe it will be better for us if it
stays wet, because we now have good settings for this kind
of weather, whereas we still can't be completely sure about
our dry set-up. Either way, I will try to get a good start
and gain a few more positions in the first corner. Then we
are back in business!"
Hiroshi Aoyama (Red Bull KTM 250 - Second in second
qualifying in 1:45.737 (sixth overall in 1:32.983)
"Yesterday we were sixth and we wanted to improve our
position and lap time, but unfortunately, it started to rain.
We then concentrated on the search for a good wet set-up because
there is a strong possibility of more rain tomorrow. Our position
on the grid isn't too bad and I have quite a good feeling
for the bike so we should have a good race tomorrow. I also
had some good luck today. I was pushing a little too hard
right at the end of the session. I ran off the track at high
speed and was close to a crash. Now we really know where the
limit is and we'll try to improve from there!"
Julian Simon (Repsol KTM 250 - seventh in second qualifying
in 1:46.624 (seventh overall in 1:33.063)
"We are improving steadily and the bike has been responding
to our set-up changes very well on this circuit. I might have
made it to the front row of the grid had we had some more
time. But then it started to rain and I mostly used the wet
sessions today to find the same sort of comfort on the bike
that I had yesterday in the dry. Once we achieved that, I
was happy and even stopped a little bit early!"
Harald Bartol (Technical Director)
"It's going to be an exciting race tomorrow. Both our
250 riders are very fast, but Mika will have a tough job recovering
from fourth row on the grid. Donington Park isn't a track
with a lot of good overtaking opportunities. On the other
hand, I know Mika as a good starter and I trust that he will
be able to make up some positions very early on."
21.06.2008
Marc Marquez shines in 125 qualifying for Donington
Spanish teenager Marc Marquez was the great surprise on the
dry first practice day in the 125 cc category at Donington
Park where KTM's racing department have now supplied all seven
riders with the latest chassis.
Unimpressed by the fierce competition of his older and more
experienced competitors, the 15-year-old Repsol KTM rider
set the early pace in Friday afternoon's first qualifying
and topped the time sheets for a while. Marquez concluded
the day in an impressive eighth position, a result that still
stands after Saturday's wet final practice that left the positions
for tomorrow's starting grid unchanged.
Marquez will start ahead of three more KTM riders, Pablo Nieto
(Onde 2000 KTM) in ninth, Tomoyoshi Koyama (ISPA KTM Aran)
in tenth and Nieto's team-mate Raffaele de Rosa in eleventh
position. Red Bull KTM 125 rider Randy Krummenacher also found
the speed to battle within the top runners. But he fell twice
in the only dry qualifying session and had to settle for nineteenth
place on the grid.
What the KTM 125 riders said
Marc Marquez (Repsol KTM 125 - twenty first in 1:54.979 (eighth
overall in 1:38.044)
"I like this circuit a lot, and I also like the new KTM
chassis. I had my first chance to try this chassis when my
team-mate Esteve Rabat had his unfortunate crash two weeks
ago and the weekend here confirms how good it is. More than
anything, it helps me to get into the turns easier and I can
ride harder without taking as many risks. Today in the wet,
the bike gave me similar sensations and the same sort of confidence
as in the dry. But in the morning, I crashed because I started
to push when the tyres were still a little bit too cold, and
in the afternoon, I made another mistake and crashed again.
Now I am looking forward to the race. My aim is to get a good
start and to stay with the leading group. If this doesn't
happen, I will still try to ride as close to the front as
possible and to keep learning!"
Randy Krummenacher (Red Bull KTM 125 - seventeenth
in 1:54.745 (nineteenth overall in 1:38.856)
"The new chassis works great. The motorcycle obeys me
now and I can ride and play with it exactly the way I like.
It's in fact so good that I feel really challenged to extend
my limits as a rider; before I was sometimes limited by the
behaviour of the bike. The advantages are the same no matter
if the track is dry or wet so I am happy. My only set-backs
were my two falls in yesterday's dry qualifying session. I
had a problem with the brake and lost the front in the first
crash. On the second I just pushed too hard and was over the
limit. If we have dry conditions tomorrow, we still have to
fine-tune our set-up a little bit. If it's wet, I will make
sure to stay calm and controlled and just to ride my own race
aiming for a good result!"
Harald Bartol (Technical Director)
"I am very pleased with our progress in the 125 cc category
and the fact that all our riders like the new chassis. The
next step will be to concentrate on the engines and to deliver
another performance boost. The performance of Marc Marquez
was a surprise to many people, but not so much to me. I know
him from last year and his talent is the reason we gave him
his chance, first in the Spanish championship, and now here.
What impresses me most is his attitude - he is not afraid
of big names, he learns very quickly, and he is a genuinely
nice guy. I believe he has a great future ahead of him!"
21.06.2008
Oliveira delivers shock victory to Red Bull Rookies regulars
at Donington Park
Portugal's Miguel Oliveira rose to the challenge of wet conditions
and won the sixth Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup race at Donington
in Britain in only his second ride in the competition.
The 13-year-old first rode as a wild card entry at his home
event in April. He led from start to finish on a wet and slippery
surface on Saturday leaving 16-year-old Norwegian Sturla Fagerhaug
and 15-year-old South African Mathew Scholtz to take the minor
podium places. Championship leader Luis Salom finished ninth,
which eroded his lead down to nine points ahead of American
JD Beach who finished fifth in Saturday's race.
Oliveira wins in first ever wet race
"It is so great to win this race. It's is so important
for me because the Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup has really
good riders and it's not easy," Oliveira said after the
race. "I don't really like riding in the rain and it
is my first time in the wet on the KTM but right from the
start I had a good feeling. I think that was the key to the
race. I felt good from the start and I guess the other riders
didn't." The young Portuguese rider had amassed a 16-second
advantage at the half way mark. His ascension to the top of
the podium was accelerated when pole sitter Daijiro Hiura
and Florian Marino both crashed leaving it to Fagerhaug and
Scholtz to hunt him down.
Fagerhaug a good second
Fagerhaug was satisfied to have had a good start. "That
is what has been letting me down so much but after Mugello
I got some good advice about what I was doing wrong and it
worked. I was a bit slow over the first few laps because we
had new rain tyres on and it was pretty slippery," the
Norwegian said.
Rookie Scholtz delivers solid performance
It was a great day for rookie Scholtz, experiencing his first
ever race in the rain. "I was battling with Florian from
the start and that slowed us down a bit so Miguel got away
from us. Then when Sturla passed us I followed him and we
picked up the pace a bit." In the end the following two
riders closed the gap to just 1.7 seconds at the flag and
Oliveira had no idea it was that close.
American JD Beach, second in the standings, had a crash in
final practice that put him on the third row of the grid.
He was not happy with his fifth place in the race. Cup leader
Luis Salom said the race had been hard and he wasn't satisfied
with the result even though it did give him seven more championship
points for his ninth place.
Results
1. Miguel Oliveira, Portugal, KTM 32:15.815
2. Sturla Fagerhaug, Norway, KTM, 32:17.580
3. Mathew Scholtz, South Africa, KTM, 32:18.923
4. Nelson Major, France, KTM, 33:16.248
5. JD Beach, USA, KTM, 33:16.537
Championship standings
1. Luis Salom, Spain, 120 points
2. JD Beach, USA, 111
3. Sturla Fagerhaug, Norway, 77
4. Nelson Major, France, 68
5. Daijiro Hiura, Japan, 63
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