Red Bull KTM 250 star Hiroshi Aoyama surfed to a fantastic third place in today's rain-soaked British Grand Prix. The Japanese ace had a poor start and was down in tenth position after one lap, but recovered quickly and pushed on to make his mark.
Hiroshi also had his share of luck when a crash by World Champion Jorge Lorenzo in lap 11 rewarded him with his long-expected first podium finish of the season, a result that is considered a turning point in the season for KTM's entire 250 cc crew.
"I had a feeling this morning that we could achieve a good result today, and to end up with my first podium finish of this season is a big relief after all the difficulties we've had so far," KTM's "Hero" said after the race. But it was not all plain sailing for the Japanese rider. He did not have a good start and dropped back through the field before he was able to turn his position around and go on the attack.
Racers had to contend with downpours of rain, which added to the difficulties. "It was a very difficult race, because the stronger the rain got, the more I was sliding around. I saw a lot of other riders crashing, and it was not easy to stay concentrated. I had someone following me closely all the time. I saw "0.5 seconds" on my pit board whenever I passed the main straight, so I couldn't relax. When I pushed to go faster, I was sliding a lot, but there was no way to be careful either, because the others would have caught me," Aoyama said after the race.
Team-mate Mika Kallio also rode a strong and steady race not far behind Aoyama. Kallio held fifth place until the last lap of the race, then slipped off and still finished in sixth position. The Finnish rider said he experienced problems with wheel grip. "I still managed to keep a good position throughout the race, but then, in the last lap, I lost the front. It was my fault really, but it also happened so quickly that there was nothing I could do. I was able to carry on and still finish the race in an acceptable position but my speed and my lap times were not so good!" Kallio is in his debut year in the 250 cc class.
Results- Andrea Dovizioso, Italy, Honda
- Alex de Angeles, San Marco, Aprilia
- Hiroshi Aoyama, Japan, KTM
- Yuku Takahashi, Japan, Honda
- Shuhei Aoyama, Japan, Honda
- Mika Kallio, Finland, KTM
Images - Kirn F.
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