The risks paid off - Kallio quickens his pace towards the race

The radical changes done to Kallio’s bike settings just before qualifying practice in Texas paid off today. In a very even battle for the qualifying positions Kallio finally ended up on 11th place, but on a notably smaller gap than this morning, just an 0,6 seconds behind pole position rider Xavier Simeon. The qualifying in Moto2-class was performed today with remarkably small gaps between the riders, and a minor improvement of less than 0.1 seconds would have taken Kallio to 8th place. and to the desired third row. 

 -Now we were only 0,6 seconds behind the fastest lap times, which means nearly a whole one second of improvement for me from this morning’s free practice. The aim was to fight my way to the top 9 to clear a decent place on the starting grid for tomorrow, and it was really close. Unfortunately we did not quite make it, but I am still content with the progress of today, a relieved Kallio reported. 

 Kallio and his team Italtrans decided today to take the bike settings to a completely new direction and experiment with something they have not tried yet during the season. Luckily the gamble paid off. 

 -After the free practice of this morning we decided to take the complete opposite direction with the settings for qualifying and take a shot with something we never tried before. We made a bit of a risky choice by adjusting the bike’s balance more towards the rear than the front. That was clearly a good move, since it was now easier to handle the bike and the grip improved as well. I was quite surprised actually, because normally when you take weight off the front, the front grip disappears. Today it was a good choice anyhow, a happy Kallio continued. 

 -Even though this sounds more dramatic than it actually is, the effects of even a minor adjustment on the bike are notable. In reality we work with millimetres, but once you change one spot on the bike, several others are affected instantly as well, Kallio explained. 

 Kallio is ready and confident for the race on Sunday. Qatar already showed that even though he has not yet found his own level on the new bike, his race pace and famous constancy in lap times is still there. 

 -We have always been good in keeping up constant lap times during the race and in Qatar I was also able to keep up the pace I had in qualifying. Not all riders are able to perform so steadily lap after lap, so maybe there is a personal strength there I will try to benefit from here as well. I will naturally aim for many overtakes during the race and am looking forward to finishing closer to the front guys than in Qatar. Even though my place on the starting grid is not exactly what I hoped for, I know for sure that it is possible to climb up and we’ll see where my pace takes me, a determined Kallio stated. 

 The circuit of the Americas in Texas is famous for it’s steep first left uphill turn and many incidents tend to occur there after the start. The forecast for Sunday indicates a possibility of rain showers, so the start might become even more tricky due to the weather conditions. 

 -We need a good start for tomorrow and I will try to clear the first corner before the traffic appears. The steep uphill, ending to a sharp breaking and left hand turn just after the start, always causes a lot of collisions among the riders. You need to really focus on what line to pick, in order not to ruin the race immediately by crashing out. If it rains, the settings we will use are not that different from those used on dry conditions today, so no panic there, Kallio wraps up. 

 The Moto2-race will be shown live from Austin, Texas on Nelonen Pro 1 -channel and Ruutu+ Pro at 20:05pm Finnish time. 

 

Results of qualifying practice today: 

1. Xavier Simeon 2.09,888

2. Sam Lowes + 0,054

3. Tito Rabat + 0,189

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11. Mika Kallio + 0,688

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