Podium finish for Mika in exhausting Sepang race

Mika Kallio stood on the podium after finishing second today at Sepang. The 31-year-old Finn may have seen the championship slip away from him to his Marc VDS -teammate Tito Rabat this afternoon, but he heads to the final race in Valencia determined to secure second place in the standings, a position he currently hold with a lead of 15 points over Maverick Viñales, the winner of today's race.

Mika Kallio // 2nd 
“Firstly, congratulations to Tito on the championship. The key to being champion is to be fast and consistent at every racetrack, and he did that this season. At the beginning of the season we could do the same, but we lost too much ground over the last five or six races, where we had some rear grip issues and a good rhythm was difficult to find. But the season is not over and I want to end the year with a good result at Valencia for a number of reasons. Firstly, it’s important to secure second in the championship, as Maverick is now only 15 points behind me. Secondly, it’s always good to end the season with a win, as it boosts your confidence going into the winter and, probably most importantly, Valencia will be my last race for Marc VDS and I’d like to sign off after four years from the top step of the podium.”

Michael Bartholemy // Team Principal
“Big congratulations to Tito. He is a deserving World Champion; of that there is no doubt. His hard work and commitment this year has seen him completely dominate the championship he’s led since the opening round in Qatar. Congratulations also to the team, whose commitment has easily matched that of Tito this season. Commiserations to Mika, who saw his teammate crowned champion today, but its unlikely that Tito would have been so dominant this season without a rider of Mika’s calibre to push him all the way every weekend. But Mika’s job isn’t finished yet; he’s been second in the standings all year and that’s how we want to see the season end in Valencia. Finally huge and heartfelt thanks to Marc van der Straten, without whose and support we wouldn’t be celebrating our first World Championship win today. Merci beaucoup, Marc!”

Photo: Gold and Goose Photography

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