Red Bull KTM 250 star Mika Kallio decided to play it safe in damp and difficult conditions at the French 250 cc Grand Prix on Sunday to finish fifth and consolidate his leading position in the championship standings.
On a day where fickle weather conditions prevailed at the famous French racing circuit, Kallio started with cut slicks and battled his way through the second group of riders when the track started to dry out. He even looked set for his fifth podium finish of the year when he swept past his opponents Mattia Pasini and Yuki Takahashi with four laps to go. But on a dry track in the final stages of the 26-lap race, the Finnish rider had to pay respect to his choice of tyres and slipped behind his rivals riding on full slicks. At the end of the day, Kallio was relieved and happy with the result and the defence of his lead in the standings. He now has 93 points, a 16-point lead from nearest rival Mattia Pasini of Italy.
Mika Kallio satisfied with fifth place
"It was a good day for me and the team. We stayed on the track, I managed to avoid a crash that could have easily happened in the slippery, damp conditions, and we finished in the position we had aimed at before the race. Fifth is perfectly okay for me," Kallio said. The Finn said everything worked well at the start of the race and he didn't experience any major problems. As conditions improved he was able to adjust his speed and push more. "I was even able to catch up and think about another podium finish," Kallio said. "But towards the end, third position slipped away from me again, because I was on cut slicks, and Pasini and Takahashi were on proper slick tyres and had a clear advantage when the track dried out completely. My bike was sliding and moving around a lot, also because our suspension settings were somewhere for the middle between dry and wet. But even though I had to back off a bit I'm still happy and the most important thing today was to take as many safe p oints as possible!"
Aoyama not so lucky in choice of tyres
Red Bull team-mate Hiroshi Aoyama was less lucky. With only minutes to go before the race start, the Japanese ace opted for slick tyres on the starting grid, but it was too late to make this choice available. Racing on intermediates, Aoyama had a great start into the race and held second position for five laps before he got into increasing difficulties as the track dried up. He held on to finish in seventh place Aoyama now has 53 championship points and is in sixth place overall. "We made a mistake with the tyre choice," Aoyama said. "Things were okay for a while with my intermediate tyres but I started to lose positions as the track dried out. I am a bit disappointed, but at least we finished the race!"
Repsol KTM rider Julian Simon, who held an impressive third place for most of the race, ran into handling problems, and dropped back to eighth place.
Congratulations from KTM CEO Stefan Pierer
"Congratulations to our riders who made the best of a difficult situation. On a slippery track, in very tricky conditions, Mika kept his cool and the world championship hopes of all of us alive. Considering the circumstances, it was a perfect day for our team!"
Results:
1. Alex Debon, Spain, Aprilia, 47:27.406
2. Marco Simoncelli, Italy, Gilera, 47:32.222
3. Mattia Pasini, Italy, Aprilia, 47:32.404
4. Yuki Takahashi, Japan, Honda, 47:33.176
5. Mika Kallio, Finland, Red Bull KTM, 47.33.603
Other KTM:
7. Hiroshi Aoyama, Japan, Red Bull KTM, 47:42.315
8. Julian Simon, Spain, Repsol KTM 250cc, 47:44.932
Standings :
1. Mika Kallio Finland, Red Bull KTM 93 points
2. Mattia Pasini, Italy, Aprilia, 77
3. Alex Debon, Spain Aprilia, 59
4. Yuki Takahashi, Japan, Honda, 59
5. Marco Simoncelli, Italy, Gilera, 53
Other KTM:
6. Hiroshi Aoyama, Japan, Red Bull KTM
10. Julian Simon, Spain, Repsol KTM 250cc
Images by Kirn F
