Mika Kallio second and aiming high at Jerez
 Red
Bull KTM 250 star Mika Kallio rode to second place on the
starting grid for the Spanish Grand Prix and is aiming high
for the race tomorrow.
With a bike set-up close to perfection, Kallio had stormed
to provisional pole position in the first qualifying session
on Friday, but missed out on further improving his time today
due to a small riding mistake. Kallio's confidence however
remains undiminished.
The 25-year-old Finn, who finished third at the season-opening
race in Qatar three weeks ago, is determined to give it all
against the fierce competition, with Spanish hero Alvaro Bautista
on pole, and fellow KTM riders Julian Simon in fifth and Hiroshi
Aoyama in sixth place, and to fight for his first victory
of the season.
Mika Kallio (Red Bull KTM 250 - 2nd in 1:59.814)
"I was first yesterday and could probably have defended
my pole position today, but it didn't quite work out. To do
a really fast lap, you have to make the best out of the first
two flying laps with a new rear tyre, but on the first lap,
I ran into traffic, and on the second lap, I made a little
mistake. I pushed as hard as I could for two more laps, but
the tyre performance had already dropped, and there was nothing
more I could do. But even though, I am happy and confident
for the race. This circuit with lots of hard braking, slow
corners and hard accelerating seems to suit our bike perfectly.
My aim is to fight for victory!"
Julian Simon (Repsol KTM 250 - 5th in 1:43.629)
"We've been fast yesterday, and I really wanted to defend
my front row starting position in final practice. But when
I went out on my final run with a soft rear tyre, I had a
big slide and almost crashed instead of improving my lap time.
Never mind - second row on the grid is still good enough to
attack!"
Hiroshi Aoyama (Red Bull KTM 250 - 6th in 1:43.640)
"Our bike felt good right from the start of practice,
and we have been able to make further improvements in terms
of handling and stability. There is just one section on the
track where I have a problem with the front end, so we have
to figure out what we can do to fix that for tomorrow. But
the base set-up that we've established works well and I look
forward to the race!"
Harald Bartol (Technical Director)
"With our 250, we look stronger and more competitive
here than three weeks ago in Qatar and there is a simple explanation:
Our bike is still very young in comparison to Aprilia and
on new tracks and in new circumstances like the night race
in Qatar, we don't have enough data to fall back on. We would
have simply needed more time to establish a good base set-up.
Here in Jerez, we've got more experience, so we have been
able to start from a high level straight away."
Results 2nd Qualifying
1. Alvaro Bautista, Spain, Aprilia
2. Mika Kallio, Finland, Red Bull KTM 250
3. Alex Debon, Spain, Aprilia
4. Thomas Luthi, Switzerland, Aprilia
5. Julian Simon, Spain, Repsol KTM 250 cc
6. Hiroshi Aoyama, Japan, Red Bull KTM 250
29.03.2008
Rafaelle de Rosa fastest KTM in qualifying for Jerez
Team Onde 2000 KTM rider Raffaelle de Rosa was fastest KTM
rider in the 125 cc category. The 20-year-old Italian was
also close to a podium finish in Qatar before crashing out
of the race.
He has also now made some last-minute adjustments to his bike
that have boosted his confidence for the race.
Raffaele de Rosa (Onde 2000 KTM 125 - 10th in 1:48.345)
"On paper, things looked a little bit better in Qatar,
but I'm not worried. A lot of the guys out there took tremendous
risks for one fast lap in qualifying, and there is no way
that they can keep this sort of pace over the race distance.
I'm able to maintain a fast and consistent rhythm. We lost
a little bit of time going the wrong way with our chassis
and suspension settings, but in the end, we managed to sort
things out again. There is not much left to do for tomorrow,
just a few small things, and then I will be ready to race!"
Harald Bartol (Technical Director)
"In the 125 class, we have more homework to do, as Aprilia
is currently a small step ahead of us with their overall package.
Raffaele de Rosa is fast and full of praise for our bike,
but I know the areas, on the chassis as much as on the engine
side, where we still need to improve."
Krummenacher making a good recovery
More good news came from Red Bull KTM 125 rider Randy Krummenacher.
The Swiss teenager, who had suffered a ruptured spleen injury
in a bicycle crash and who underwent emergency surgery yesterday
when the injury was finally detected, is recovering well from
his operation. The 18-year-old was released from emergency
care and moved to a normal hospital bed Saturday. He may be
able to fly home to Zurich as soon as Monday. "Considering
all the circumstances, I am very lucky that things turned
out the way they did. A guardian angel was watching over me,"
said Krummenacher, who is keen to get back on his bike as
soon as possible. "The spleen is like a reserve tank
of blood, and contributes to blood cell rejuvenation, but
it is not a vital organ," explained Dr. Claudio Costa
who had urged for Krummenacher to be hospitalised on Friday
morning. "There are numerous Grand Prix racers like Kenny
Roberts senior, Carlos Checa and Roberto Locatelli, who continued
very successful careers without their spleen. Randy Krummenacher
will also be fully fit and fully competitive again!"
Marc Marquez, the new young Spanish talent for the Repsol
KTM 125 cc team was also unable to ride and si still recovering
from broken wrist in a spill at Jerez during the February
tests. Clear sunny weather with temperatures at around 22º
Celsius are expected for Sunday's race on the popular southern
Spanish circuit.
Results Qualifying Practice Two
1. Bradley Smith, Britain, Aprilia
2. NicolalTerol, Spain, Aprilia
3. Stefan Bradl. Germany, Aprilia
4. Gabor Talmacsi, Hungary, Aprilia
5. Corsi, Italy, Aprilia
10. Raffael De Rosa, Italy, Onde 2000 KTM
13. Pablo Nieto, Spain, Onde 2000 KTM
16. Esteve Rabat, Spain, Respol KTM 125cc
20. Tomoyoshi Koyama, Japan, ISPA KTM Aran
31. Lorenzo Zanetti, Italy, ISPA KRM Aran
Did not start
Randy Krummenacher, Switzerland, Red Bull KTM 125
Marc Marquez, Spain, Repsol KTM 125cc
29.03.2008
Luis Salom launches Red Bull Rookies Season in style
Luis Salom put in a perfect race from pole position to be
first through the checkered flag on Saturday snatching victory
in the first race in the 2008 Red Bull Rookies Cup in Jerez.
Salom, one of the 24 talented young riders chosen for this
year's competition in Europe also had the thrill of doing
it in front of a massive home crowd on the Jerez circuit in
Spain. American JD Beach was second and Dean Brown of Britain
was third. All the riders in the Red Bull Cup are onboard
KTM 125 machines.
Eight second lead
Salom, who already has one season's racing to his credit as
one of the competitors in the inaugural competition in 2007,
completely dominated the race extending his lead by almost
a second in every lap. He had amassed an eight second lead
by the end of the race but six riders - Beach, Trabalon, Ruiz,
Fagerhaug, Major and Brown - behind him fought a valiant battle
for the minor podium places.
Tough competition for young riders
Two Japanese riders also looked impressive. The fifth place
Daijiro Hiura who rode one race as a wild card in 2007 and
promises to be one to watch this season, and Sasuke Shinozaki
who worked his way from grid position 12 to third place in
the first half of the race. Shinozaki looked set to take a
minor podium place engaged in a tough duel with Trabalon in
the first half of the race but then was unable to complete
the full distance.
Results: Race No. 1 - 15 laps = 66.345 km
1. Luis Salom, Spain, KTM, 28:39.174
2. JD Beach, USA, KTM, 28:48.651
3. Deane Brown, Britain, KTM 28:48.751
4. Nelson Major, France, KTM, 28:49.382
5. Daijiro Hiura, Japan, KTM, 28:49.626
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