Red Bull KTM rider Mika Kallio showed both strength and determination at the French Grand Prix on Sunday in the 250 cc race, when he battled his way to a difficult eventual seventh place. The Finnish rider had to deal with handling problems when the bike was fully loaded with fuel and with a near accident with another rider that forced him into the gravel. In a day when luck seemed to escape the team, Kallio’s team-mate Hiroshi Aoyama also had his share of disappointments. Aoyama started well and for a while was able to ride alongside Kallio. Then a top 10 finish eluded him when the crankshaft of his motorcycle broke.
“I had a really good start again and was in fifth position after the first corner,” Kallio reported after the race. He then ran into a problem that had previously given him difficulty. “The bike didn’t handle very well with a full petrol tank, and I had to brake earlier than usual,” he said.
Kallio slipped back some places but was still confident of a good finish when he and Anthony West touched going into the first fast right hand corner of the circuit. Kallio ended up in the gravel and lost another four positions. “My brake lever was bent down which made it more difficult to ride. But I still tried to push and even got back up to speed after that, because as the fuel level went down and the bike got lighter it felt the way I like it.” In the closing stages it seemed possible for Kallio to finish in sixth slot but Simoncelli went on the attack and he was unable to catch him.
Aoyama too was making steady progress up through the ranks. He was eleventh after one lap and by lap five had moved up to ninth. “I would have made further progress for sure but then the engine started to feel strange, it felt tight under acceleration and started to lose power. And just before mid-race, my bike simply stopped,” the Japanese rider concluded.
Results 250 cc Race:1. Sergio Gadea, Spain, Aprilia, 41’50.112
2. Lukas Pesek, Czech Republic, Derbi, 41’50.590
3. Bradley Smith, Britain, Honda, 41:53.075
4. Gabor Talmacsi, Hungary, Aprilia, 42’03.628
5. Joan Olive, Spain, Aprilia, 42’03.957
10. Tomoyoshi Koyama, Japan, KTM, 42’09.220
13. Randy Krummenacher, Switzerland, 42’19.629
Steve Bonsey, USA, KTM DNF
Images by Kirn F.
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