Final pre-season tests for Kallio commence in Jerez

The official and final pre-season IRTA tests of Moto2 begin in Jerez, Spain, today.  These three days of testing before season opening are of high importance for the Finn Mika Kallio and his team, Italtrans. Kallio and his team have struggled with the set-up of the bike during the previous tests and are now expecting a lot of work to get all in place before the first race in Qatar. The final pre-season tests are also a common benchmark for the teams and offer a possibility for credible comparison between the rider standings before the first start in Losail, Qatar, 29th of March. 

 - We don’t have that many common kilometres between myself and the new team yet, due to technical difficulties and bad weather in the previous tests. Therefore we are still a bit lost with the feel and the settings, compared to last year. We are probably going forth with the 2015 bike, but nothing is certain yet and in Jerez we need to work hard and make some tough decisions on to which direction to take the settings,  reported Kallio before departing for the first laps. 

 - In these tests all teams are finally present and are running their official race set-ups, including the certified, new engines which will be used in Qatar. It is therefore exciting to see how it all plays out and where we stand in terms of compatibility after the tests are over. 

 Kallio’s three day test program has been carefully planned in cooperation with his race engineer, Antonio Jimenez. 

 - We will focus on three main things during the tests, including front feel / weight distribution of the bike, new back fork which has now been tailored to fit my riding style and thirdly the front shocks, on which we will compare two different models. 

 The weather forecast is not too promising from the riders’ point of view, as mild rain has been predicted to the area. Happily Kallio will not let the weather forecast distract him from his main focus. 

 - They always seem to predict rain when test days arrive, let’s hope they won’t get it right this time. Also, we need to let go of the previous tests and difficulties faced there, and concentrate on the upcoming important laps. We need to get the basics working and find a satisfactory level on which I can trust the bike. 

 Moto2-series tests begin in Jerez, Spain on Tuesday 17th of March and end on Thursday the 19th. The first race of the season 2015 will take place in Qatar, on Sunday March 29th. 

 

Picture: mikakallio.com

 More pictures free for publishing can be found from the site www.mikakallio.com/formedia

 

 

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