Mika struggled with rear grip issues and finished seventh

Mika Kallio finished seventh today at Aragon in Spain.

It was Kallio who made the early running, leading the race for the first four laps, but the 31-year-old Finn started to struggle for rear grip after eventual race winner Maverick Viñales passed him for the lead. Lacking drive out of the turns, Kallio eventually dropped down the order to finish seventh.

Mika Kallio // 7th
“The first part of the race was good. I got away at the front and then tried to stay calm, ride smoothly and conserve the tyre as much as possible. When Viñales came past I could stay with him at first, but then the rear grip started to drop off, the rear started spinning up and I was struggling to drive the bike out of the turns. It dropped me back into the group behind and we lost some time battling for position. I wasn’t getting the drive onto the straight, so I couldn’t pass under braking, but the others could and there was nothing I could do to stop them. I don’t know what the problem was, because we made no changes to the bike and the tyre doesn’t look so bad. Maybe the cooler conditions played a part, but there was just no grip and it’s something we need to look into.”  

Michael Bartholemy // Team Principal
“I know Mika will be disappointed with seventh today, but there was little else he could have done once the tyre started to go off. It’s a long straight here at Aragon and if you don’t get the drive out of turn 15 then you’re in trouble. Tito may have extended his lead, but Mika hasn’t given up on the title yet, as I’m sure we’ll see in Japan.”

Photo: Gold and Goose Photography

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