Lady luck rides with KTM's Mika Kallio in Jerez
 Mika
Kallio, Red Bull KTM 250s cool, calculating and clever Finnish
rider had already settled for third place in the 205 cc Grand
Prix at Jerez when the two leading riders touched and went
down on the last lap and gave him the victory.
Kallio had taken an early lead but dropped back as his rear
tyre grip diminished, was able to sail home for a lucky but
well deserved victory when Marco Simoncelli and Alvaro Bautista
went out. The 25-year-old Finn had been able to defend third
place for most of the race and even when Swiss rider Tom Lüthi
got ahead of him, he fought back to regain his position.
Still an enjoyable victory for Kallio
Kallio said he felt sorry for Alvaro Bautista but underlined
that his team had been unlucky in the past so he allowed himself
to be happy with his victory. "I had a good start and
took the lead, but very early on, almost immediately, my rear
tyre grip started to drop. Even though we hadn't made any
changes my bike felt completely different to yesterday and
to this morning's warm-up. The tyre was also supposed to be
the same as the one we used in practice. I saw there was no
way to hang on to the leaders, so I settled into my own pace
and tried to defend third place, which was difficult enough.
Then I got into a fight with Tom Lüthi but another group
of riders came from behind I regained my third position."
Cloud of dust reveals imminent victory
Kallio said he then saw a cloud of dust in the last lap and
Bautista and Simoncelli came out of it. "I knew I only
had to finish the race to take victory although it didn't
feel the same as if you fight for your win, I still happy."
Kallio dedicated his victory to his 6-months-old daughter,
who, although she slept through her father's success, was
attending her first Grand Prix.
Solid places for Aoyama and Simon
The event was also rewarding for Kallio's team-mate Hiroshi
Aoyama and Spanish Repsol KTM 250 rider Julian Simon. Aoyama,
who had managed to move up from eighth to sixth then made
a heroic dash at the end to jump two more places to finish
fourth. Simon, who battled increasing pain in his right arm
and rode in a lonely ninth position, eventually finished in
seventh place.
New start for Aoyama
"The Grand Prix of Qatar was horrible for me, so today
was like the first race for me, as if the season had just
begun," Aoyama said. "Somebody pushed me off my
line right after the start of the race and I lost a lot of
places, but after that, everything went really well. My engine
was strong and consistent, and the chassis set-up was fine.
I only struggled a bit with the level of tyre grip in the
fast corners. But we've shown that we are fast and competitive
again, and my expectations for the next race in Portugal are
very high!"
Simon has problems with arm
Julian Simon of Repsol KTM 250cc was in fifth place for almost
half the race and expected a strong result. But then he had
problems with his right forearm, which became very painful.
"It got harder and harder to control the front brake
and throttle, which is why I lost some positions," the
Spanish KTM rider said.
Bartol positive
While conceding it was a lucky victory, Technical Director
Harald Bartol joined with Mika in enjoying the victory. "With
Mika now second in the championship standings, and all three
KTM 250 riders in the top seven, things look really good for
us. But at the same time, we know in which areas we have to
catch up. In terms of speed, Bautista had a small edge over
us and we will be working hard to close this gap," Bartol
said.
Results 250 cc race
1. Mika Kallio, Finland, Red Bull KTM 250
2. Mattia Pasini, Italy, Aprilia
3. Yuki Takahashi, Japan, Honda
4. Hiroshi Aoyama, Japan, Red Bull KTM 250
5. Hector Barbera, Spain, Aprilia
7. Julian Simon, Spain, Repsol KTM 250 cc
30.03.2008
Nieto gives all in 125 cc GP in front of home crowd at Jerez
Onde 2000 KTM rider Pablo Nieto gave it all in front of his
home crowd to secure an impressive fifth position in the 125
cc class at the Jerez Grand Prix on Sunday to be the best
finisher onboard a KTM machine
Hard work
"We've worked very hard to establish a good base set-up
for my bike in these first two races, and we've learned and
achieved a lot," Nieto said. " Thanks to the KTM's
good handling, I gained in the corners and I was able to pass
some of my opponents. At some stage, I seemed to even have
a podium finish within reach. Unfortunately, I couldn't quite
match the speed of the others on the straights. I gave it
all in the corners but in the end it wasn't enough for the
podium." Nieto confirmed he is happy with the team's
progress. "I have full confidence in KTM and their development
speed in order to give us what we need, and to be able to
respond very quickly," he said.
Valuable points
Nieto's teammate Raffaele de Rosa, Repsol KTM 125cc rider
Esteve Rabat and ISPA KTM Aran's Tomoyoshi Koyama also took
valuable points in twelfth, thirteenth and fifteenth position
on the Spanish circuit which draws a huge crowd of the sport's
enthusiasts. "We made a change to the suspension set-up
this morning and we thought it was the right move, but with
the unexpected change in air and track temperature, it turned
out that we'd gone the wrong way," de Rosa said. "I
was sliding a lot with the rear, and couldn't do any more!"
Krummenacher and Marquez absent from the grid
Absent from the KTM lineup for Sunday's race was Red bull
KTM 125 racer Randy Krummenacher who underwent emergency surgery
for a ruptured spleen on Friday and young Marc Marquez of
Repsol KTM 125cc who is recovering from a broke wrist from
a spill in pre-season tests.
Results 125 cc Race
1. Simone Corsi, Italy, Aprilia
2. Nicolas Terol, Spain, Aprilia
3. Bradley Smith, Britain, Aprilia
4. Stefan Bradl. Germany, Aprilia
5. Pablo Nieto, Spain, Onde 2000 KTM
11. Raffael De Rosa, Italy, Onde 2000 KTM
12. Esteve Rabat, Spain, Respol KTM 125cc
13. Tomoyoshi Koyama, Japan, ISPA KTM Aran
Not classified Lorenzo Zanetti, Italy, ISPA KRM Aran
30.03.2008
Luis Salom makes it a double for a perfect start to Red Bill
Rookies season
Luis Salom wrapped up a perfect weekend in his home country
of Spain, winning both of the first two races in the Red Bull
Rookies Cup on the Jerez circuit.
On Sunday the 16-year old Spaniard not only duplicated his
Saturday's victory ride but also met the King Juan Carlos
of Spain and received his trophy from Spanish MotoGP winner
Danny Pedrosa. As with Saturday's race, American JD Beach
and Dean Brown of Britain took the minor places.
Salom, who gathered experience in the first season of the
Red Bull Rookies, started from pole and looked like he would
have a trouble free 15-lap race, but at one stage he clipped
the grass and gave JD a chance to narrow the gap. Salom said
later that he took in the error and concentrated on staying
calm, a tactic that showed maturity and paid off for him.
The 13-year old Japanese Daijiro Hiura was up with the front
runners for much of the race while a group of eight riders
formed the pursuing group. Hiura, who rode one race last season
as a wild card eventually finished in fifth behind the more
experienced Sturla Fagerhaug of Norway, also a veteran of
one season with the Rookies.
The program, which gives young racers, technicians and mechanics
a unique opportunity to race on world class circuits in the
heady atmosphere of GP racing, is in its second year. All
of the young riders are onboard KTM 125 cc machines especially
developed for the competition. For the first time a parallel
competition is being run in the USA.
Results: Race No. 2 - 15 laps = 66.345 km
1. Luis Salom, Spain, KTM
2. JD Beach, USA, KTM
3. Deane Brown, Britain, KTM
4. Sturla Fagerhaug, Norway, KTM
5. Daijiro Hiura, Japan, KTM
6. Nelson Major, France, KTM
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