Double victory for Mika Kallio and Hiroshi Aoyama
 Red
Bull KTM 250 stars Mika Kallio and Hiroshi Aoyama mastered
treacherous conditions in today's wet Grand Prix of China
to score a fantastic double victory for KTM.
It was the second one-two for the Austrian manufacturer in
the 250 cc category after Aoyama won the German Grand Prix
last year ahead of his team-mate.
Pole-sitter Alvaro Bautista had established an early lead,
but when the young Spaniard crashed out on the ninth lap of
the race, Kallio had a clear track ahead and rode to a comfortable
win despite increasing grip problems on the drying tarmac.
With two victories and four podium finishes in four races
so far, the Finn extended his world championship lead to a
massive 21 points. Aoyama, who tried so hard to catch Kallio
that he opened up a gap of no less than 13 seconds to Mattia
Pasini in third place, celebrated his first podium finish
of the year.
Mika Kallio (First)
"This is better than perfect! In dry conditions, we were
a little behind, but the wet track today helped us. But it
certainly wasn't an easy task. After the start, I watched
the situation for a while and saw that there was quite a difference
between me and the other guys around me. They were faster
in some sections of the track, and I was faster in others,
which made it difficult to overtake. Eventually I managed
to get past some of the other riders and took second place."
Kallio took the advantage when Bautista crashed and then had
to find his own rhythm in the lead before noticing on his
pit board that Aoyama was closing the gap. "When the
track dried along the fastest line, it got increasingly difficult
to control the bike, and when I saw the chequered flag, I
was so happy that I stopped at the pit wall to celebrate with
my team," the Finn said.
Kallio said he was aware that he and the team had to continue
to score points to maintain the lead in the championship.
"We have to stick to our strategy of going for victories
where possible, but also to settle for safe points where we
don't have a chance to win," Kallio said, dedicating
the victory to his team.
Hiroshi Aoyama (Second)
"I was only eleventh in practice, and to be able to celebrate
my first podium finish today is a fantastic feeling! We made
a last-minute adjustment on the starting grid and changed
the sprocket because my sixth gear wasn't tall enough for
the back straight. This was certainly the right decision for
the race and it allowed me to finish safely without putting
excessive strain on the engine. This meant that third and
fourth gear were a little too long and it took me quite some
time to get up to second place. Mika was far gone by that
time, but I still pulled out all stops to catch up with him.
It was really difficult because the dry line would destroy
the tyre, and I didn't get enough grip I the wet sections."
Harald Bartol (Technical Director)
"What a fantastic day for us. Every victory is a big
step towards the title, and when your main opponent fails
to score, it is even more valuable! We knew Mika had something
up his sleeve for the race, because when he crashed in final
practice, he was on a lightning fast lap that never showed
in the time sheets. He had a very good set-up also for the
wet, and we adapted a few of his settings to Hiroshi's bike
as well, especially the gearing. This turned out to be the
golden move. Congratulations to both of them - it simply doesn't
get any better!"
Results
1. Mika Kallio, Finland, Red Bull KTM, 48:12.217
2. Hiroshi Aoyama, Japan, Red Bull KTM
3. Mattia Pasini, Italy,
4. Marco Simoncelli, Italy,
5. Alex Debon, Spain, Aprilia
Julian Simon, Spain, Repsol KTM DNF
Standings
1. Mika Kallio, KTM, 82 points
2. Mattia Pasini, 61
3. Hector Barbera, Spain, 49
4. Yuki Takahashi 46
5. Hiroshi Aoyama, KTM 44
Other KTM Riders
10. Julian Simon Repsol KTM 23
04.05.2008
Raffaele de Rosa top KTM rider in China
Racing on a damp and tricky surface in the 125 cc race of
the Grand Prix of China, Team Onde 2000 KTM rider Raffaele
de Rosa established himself in the top five but crashed in
the thirteenth lap. He then finished in ninth to be the top
KTM rider.
Repsol KTM riders Esteve Rabat and Marc Marquez fought hard
against each other to finish in eleventh and twelfth position,
ISPA KTM Aran rider Tomoyoshi Koyama was the fourth KTM 125
rider within the point rankings in thirteenth place.
Not so fortunate was Red Bull KTM 125 rider Randy Krummenacher
who was making his comeback after an emergency spleen operation
in Spain. He rode from the back of the grid into the top 15
but was sidelined three laps when he had to withdraw because
of technical problems.
Disappointed Krummenacher
"My bike stopped at the trackside and I was really upset
because I would have taken one or two points for sure! We
found a good set-up for the rainy conditions today. I immediately
had the feedback from the bike that I need, and that I had
missed in dry practice. Despite my poor grid position, I was
able to catch up quite quickly and that was a confidence booster
for the coming races. My aim for the next race in France is
to build up the same confidence in dry conditions!"
Results
1. Andrea Iannone, Italy, Aprilia 46:02.275
2. Mike De Meglio, France, Derbi, 46:05.630
3. Gabor Talmacsi, Hungary, Aprilia, 46:05.726
4. Pol Espargaro, Spain, Derbi, 46:16.303
5. Stefan Bradl, Germany, Aprilia, 46:26.128
9. Raffael de Rosa, Italy, Onde 2000 KTM, 46:37.133
11. Esteve Rabat, Spain, Repsol KTM 125 cc, 46:43.414
12. Marc Marquez, Spain, Repsol KTM 125 cc 46:45.952
13. Tomoyoshi Koyama, Japan, Ispa KTM Aran, 46:55.764
Randy Krummenacher, Red Bull KTM DNF
Lorenzo Zanetti, Italy, ISPA KTM Aran DNF
Standings
1. Simone Corso Italy 59 points
2. Joan Olive, spain, 50
3. Nicolas Terol, Spain, 50
4. Mike de Meglio, France, 49
5. Stefan Bradl, Germany, 48
Other KTM Riders
18 Raffael de Rosa, 12
19. Pablo Nieto, 11
20. Esteve Rabat, 9
21. Tomoyoshi Koyama, 6
22. Marc Marquez, 4
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