Mika Kallio stops but still defends championship lead at
Catalunya GP
 Red
Bull KTM 250 star Mika Kallio ran into bad luck in Sunday's
Catalunya Grand Prix when his bike suffered a minor mechanical
failure five laps from the end of the 23-lap race.
The 25-year-old Finn and championship leader had managed to
improve the chassis set-up of the race and held promising
top five and top six positions for most of the race.
Kallio had even managed to overtake fast Swiss Aprilia factory
rider Tom Lüthi but a broken piston ring robbed him of
all chances to secure more valuable points in his title campaign.
Kallio, who had scored very consistently in the first six
races of the year, still managed to defend his world championship
lead, staying ahead of race winner Marco Simoncelli by three
points.
Mika Kallio (Red Bull KTM 250 - did not finish)
"We managed to improve the chassis set-up from yesterday,
with a higher rear end of the bike, a steeper steering angle
and more weight on the front. I also didn't have the clutch
problem at the start that slowed me at the last race in Italy.
I got away from the line okay and immediately found myself
in the top group of five or six. I was still confident I could
pick up a good bunch of points even if our set-up still wasn't
good enough to hang on to the leaders and fight for the podium.
Then the piston ring broke. I noticed immediately that something
was wrong. There was a strange noise and a lack of power.
I tried to slowly cruise home then I nearly crashed when I
hit a bump at the chicane of the Formula 1 track, which I
hadn't seen before. Luckily I saved it, but the race result
obviously wasn't that good for us. I am still leading in the
point rankings, but the others are getting dangerously close!"
Early clash for Aoyama
Kallio's Red Bull KTM factory team-mate Hiroshi Aoyama was
hit by another rider at the start and the impact bent his
clutch lever. The Japanese ace bravely rode on, recovering
steadily to finally finish in seventh place. Spain's hope,
Repsol KTM rider Julian Simon, rode a steady and strong race
in front of his home crowd to ninth place.
Hiroshi Aoyama (Red Bull KTM - 16th)
"There was a collision with Locatelli right after the
start and he bent my clutch lever. But that wasn't my problem.
I still finished the first lap in tenth position and was hoping
to get a good result, but I just didn't have the speed and
the rhythm to challenge the top runners. It was a difficult
race!"
Julian Simon (Repsol KTM 250 - 9th)
"I had a good start, but a few other riders dived underneath
me at the end of the main straight and I lost some positions.
I was down a bit on top speed so I had difficulty maintaining
the rhythm of the fastest guys. I also need to further improve
my riding on the KTM and to get faster overall. But I am still
happy to get a top ten finish in my home race!"
Harald Bartol (Technical Director)
"Mika has been running these cylinders for quite some
time. We changed pistons and piston rings before this morning's
warm up practice session just like we usually do and everything
seemed to be perfectly all right. I suspect that the broken
piston ring is due to a material defect. I'm sorry for Mika.
He could have taken a lot of points in this race. The track
layout at the next Grand Prix in England might suit our bikes
better, but I refuse to count on that: We have to improve
in several areas and to get fully competitive again, no matter
where we go - this is the only way to win this championship!"
Results
1. Marco Simoncelli, Italy, Gilera, 41:01.859
2. Alvaro Bautista, Spain, Aprilia, 41:01.898
3. Hector Barbera, Spain, Aprilia, 41:13.150
4. Alex Debon, Spain, Aprilia, 41:28.480
5. Thomas Luthi, Switzerland, Aprilia
Other KTM
7. Hiroshi Aoyama, Japan, Red Bull KTM 250, 41:37.677
9. Julian Simon, Spain, Repsol KTM 250cc, 41:38.823
Mika Kallio, Finland, Red Bull KTM 250 DNF
Standings
1. Mika Kallio, Finland, Red Bull KTM 250. 106 points
2. Marco Simoncelli, Italy, 103
3. Mattia Pasini, Italy, 98
4. Alex Debon, Spain, 92
5. Hiroshi Aoyama, Japan, Red Bull KTM 250, 70
Other KTM
10 Julian Simon, Spain, Repsol KTM 250cc, 43
15-year-old Marquez top KTM 125cc rider at Catalunya
GP
Repsol KTM rider Marc Marquez proved to be the surprise of
the 125 cc GP in Catalunya Sunday when the 15-year-old teenager
from Cervera started from fourteenth on the grid and battled
his way to a great tenth place in front of his Spanish fans.
It was his best result since he signed for the team a Grand
Prix rookie at the end of last year. Japanese ISPA KTM star
Tomoyoshi Koyama and Swiss Red Bull KTM rider Randy Krummenacher
also improved on their practice performances picking up points
for their respective thirteenth and fifteenth places.
Marc Marquez (Repsol KTM 125 - tenth)
"That was a tough race! While I was running in the top
group of riders I could match their pace but at some point
I collided with Stefan Bradland dropped back. Once I had lost
contact it was very difficult for me to keep their fast rhythm
and in the end it was a lonely ride. But the most important
thing is that I got tenth place at my home race. It's my best
result in Grand Prix racing so far and it gives me a lot of
confidence for the future!"
Randy Krummenacher (Red Bull KTM 125 - fifteenth)
"We made progress since the last race in Mugello, but
it wasn't enough. I didn't find the additional chassis stability
that we were aiming for after final practice yesterday and
I was fighting with my motorcycle more than with my opponents
on the track!"
Tomoyoshi Koyama (ISPA KTM Aran 125 - thirteenth)
"Yesterday we went back to the suspension settings that
we used in last year's Grand Prix, and this helped me a little
bit. But it was still not enough, so I am looking forward
to testing the new chassis that KTM developed for our 125
cc machine. I could also do with a little more horsepower
- whenever I gained some positions on the brakes, it was very
difficult to defend myself on the next straight!"
Rabat making a good recovery, doctors say
Repsol KTM rider Esteve Rabat was reported to be making a
good recovery in the Catalunya General Hospital were he was
admitted with concussion after a crash in training for the
Catalunya GP. According to his team, doctors reported that
CAT scans revealed no cerebral injuries but the rider was
being kept in hospital under observation for several days.
Results
1. Mike di Meglio, France, Derbi, 41:08.708
2. Pol Espargaro, Spain, Derbi, 41:08.976
3. Gabor Talmacsi, Hungary, Aprilia, 41:09.046
4. Stefan Bradl, Germany, Aprilia, 41:18.473
5. Simone Corsi, Italy, Aprilia, 41:18.849
Other KTM
10. Marc Marquez, Spain, Repsol KTM 125 cc, 41:27.670
13. Tomoyoshi Koyama, Japan, ISPA KTM Aran, 41:33.721
15. Randy Krummenacher, Switzerland, Red Bull KTM 125, 41:33.896
Raffaele De Rosa, Italy, Onde 2000 KTM, DNF
Lorenzo Zanetti, Italy, ISPA KTM Aran, DNF
Pablo Nieto, Spain, Onde 2000 KTM, DNF
Standings
1. Mike De Meglio, France, 112 points
2. Simone Corsi, Italy, 98
3. Stefan Bradl, Germany, 77
4. Nicolas Terol, Spain, 75
5. Pol Espargaro, Spain, 75
Other KTM
15. Raffaele De Rosa, Italy, 22
19. Pablo Nieto, Spain, 11
20. Marc Marquez, Spain, 10
21. Lorenzo Zanetti, Italy, 9
22. Esteve Rabat, Spain, 9
23. Tomoyoshi Koyama, Japan, 9
24. Randy Krummenacher, Switzerland, 7
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