Kallio and Simon battle it out for third in Australian GP
Red Bull KTM 250 star Mika Kallio and Spanish Repsol KTM rider Julian Simon fought a hard battle for the third podium place in Sunday's 250 cc Australian GP with Kallio snatching the glory in the final seconds.
Simon swept ahead of Kallio for the first time on lap three, defending his position until the twelfth lap before both of them started their thrilling cat-and-mouse game, constantly changing positions before Kallio finally charged the chequered flag just three hundredths of a second ahead of Simon. Kallio celebrated his sixth podium finish of the season and in doing so hangs onto a mathematical chance in the fight for the world title, with a point gap to race winner Marco Simoncelli, 49 points ahead, and two races to go.
Aoyama unlucky in Phillip Island
Kallio's team-mate Hiroshi Aoyama had a fantastic start and looked a sure fire podium contender until he struggled with a strange lack of speed very early on in the race and dropped back. After a lonely ride in fifth position, he finally entered the pits on the sixteenth lap of the race, where a flooded carburettor was detected.
Mika Kallio (Red Bull KTM 250 - third):
"This was a tough fight between Julian and me. I knew that he was fast and that he would be trying to overtake me somewhere in the braking zones where he was especially strong. He got me when I made a small mistake on the third last corner but I was faster out of the last corner and managed to pass him again. Third place isn't a bad result, and it is good to be on the podium again. But it's not enough to boost our championship hopes. Simoncelli is now very far ahead in the point standings, and even Bautista managed to open quite a gap on us. But we will keep our heads down and continue to work hard and to fight, and then we'll see where we end up!"
Julian Simon (Repsol KTM 250 - fourth):
"That was the most exciting race we've had all season. We had lots of close overtaking manoeuvres and a very high race rhythm. Simoncelli and Bautista had a little bit of an edge on us, mainly in terms of traction, but we were fast enough to fight for the podium and that's great.
Hiroshi Aoyama (Red Bull KTM 250 - did not finish):
"My start was good, but then I suddenly lost speed on the next straight. First Mika and Simoncelli passed me, then a few others, and there was nothing I could do. Of course I tried to finish the race but it wasn't possible. It's a pity because apart from my crash on Friday, we've had a good run all weekend and we were very competitive. All we can do now is look ahead - the Malaysian Grand Prix is next on the calendar, and I like the track there very, very much!"
Harald Bartol (Technical Director):
"The battle between Mika and Julian was quite exciting but unfortunately Mika wasn't able to keep the pace of the race leaders. Compared to Simoncelli and Bautista, he suffered from a lack of traction out of the fast corners and his rear tyre was badly worn after the race. It's also a pity that Hiro wasn't able to finish the race, one carburettor was flooded which is a very rare and unusual problem."
Results:
1. Marco Simoncelli, Italy, Gilera, 39:02.553
2. Alvaro Bautista, Spain, Aprilia, 39:02.776
3. Mika Kallio, Finland, Red Bull KTM 250, 39:17.003
4. Julian Simon, Spain, Repsol KTM 250cc, 39:17.031
5. Alex Debon, Spain, Aprilia, 39:28.779
DNF Hiroshi Aoyama, Japan, Red Bull KTM 250
Championship Standings after 15-17 races - excludes Indianapolis (race cancelled):
1. Marco Simoncelli, Italy, 240 points
2. Alvaro Bautista, Spain, Aprilia, 203
3. Mika Kallio, Finland, Red Bull KTM, 191
4. Alex Debon, Spain, 166
5. Hector Barbera, Spain, 142
Other KTM
8. Julian Simon, Spain, Repsol KTM 250cc, 109
9. Hiroshi Aoyama, Japan, Red Bull KTM 250, 108
Rabat fastest 125cc KTM in Phillip Island
Spain's Esteve Rabat was KTM's best rider in the 125 cc category conquering seventh place in a tough battle of a tight pack of riders, which included his Repsol KTM team-mate Marc Marquez who crossed in eighth position.
But the result was revised soon after the chequered flag came down and Marquez lost one position to Italian rider Simone Corsi: In the heat of the battle against Corsi, Marquez had raised an elbow for which he received a one second penalty by race direction.
Red Bull KTM rider Randy Krummenacher had an unlucky comeback after his two-race-break. The Swiss teenager crashed on the opening lap of the race, pulled in for a pit stop, but bravely rode on and finished the race.
Marc Marquez (Repsol KTM 125 - ninth):
"That was a fun race, very interesting and entertaining with lots of close fighting and overtaking. I had a really good start from my third row grid position and I was immediately up with the front group. Mike di Meglio and a few others were too fast for me but I saw my chances in my group and went for it. I was a bit shocked when I heard the decision of race direction to give me a penalty. Corsi forced me off the line, and since I had nowhere to go, I simply raised my elbow in defence!"
Randy Krummenacher (Red Bull KTM - did not finish):
"I got pushed off the best line on the opening lap of the race, and since the track is very slippery outside of the normal racing line, I suffered a similar fate to a whole bunch of other riders and crashed. I was able to continue, but unfortunately, my fairing was broken and I had to pull in for repairs. Everybody was long gone after that of course, but I was determined to finish the race, so I started a second time!"
Harald Bartol (Technical Director):
"In the 125 cc class, both Esteve Rabat and Marc Marquez went really well and showed a lot of fighting spirit. It's a pity that Marc got penalised, but it doesn't change my high opinions about his talent and his future. Our goal is to present him with a truly competitive bike for next season then things will look completely different to what they look now!"
Results 125 cc:
1. Mike De Meglio, France, Derbi, 37:55.589
2. Stefan Bradl, Germany, Aprilia, 38:05.844
3. Gabor Talmacsi, Hungary, Aprilia, 38:08.695
4. Andrea Iannone, Italy, Aprilia, 38.08.736
5. Pol Espargaro, Spain, Derbi, 38:22.385
Other KTM
7. Esteve Rabat, Spain, Repsol KTM 125cc, 38:22.770
9. Marc Marquez, Spain, Repsol KTM 125cc, 38:23.876
12. Lorenzo Zanetti, italy, ISPA KTM Aran, 38:53.002
13. Pablo Nieto, Spain, Onde 2000 KTN, 38:53.040
19. Enrique Jerez, Spain, ISPA KTM Aran, 39:39.381
21. Randy Krummenacher, Switzerland, Red Bull KTM 125, 39:19.340
DNF Rafaele De Rosa, Italy, Onde 2000 KTM
Championship Standings after 15 of 17 races:
1. Mike De Meglio, France, 237 points
2. Stefan Bradl, Germany, 187
3. Simone Corsi, Italy, 184
4. Gabor Talmacsi, Hungary, 181
5. Nicolas Terol, Spain, 149
Other KTM
13. Marc Marquez, Spain, Repsol KTM 125cc, 63
15. Esteve Rabat, Spain, Repsol KTM 125cc, 43
17. Raffaele De Rosa, Italy, Onde 2000 KTM, 37
19. Tomoyoshi Koyama, Japan, Onde 2000 KTM, 27
22. Pablo Nieto, Spain, Onde 2000 KTM, 16
23. Lorenzo Zanetti, Italy, ISPA KTM Aran,14
25. Randy Krummenacher, Switzerland, Red Bull KTM 125, 10
Photographer: Kirn F.
