Mika Kallio stops but still defends championship lead at Catalunya GP2008-06-08 08:35Red 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 Source: KTM-Sportmotorcycle AG Click here to visit our forums to discuss this story |
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