Kallio reflects on the biggest decision of the year

The MotoGP-tour will arrive to Europe this weekend for the first time during the season of 2015. A heated battle will be fought in the Moto2-class and Mika Kallio, sixth in the championship at this time, is looking forward to the race in Jerez, Spain. He and his team, Italtrans, formed a final decision on which chassis to use for the rest of the season before leaving for Jerez and even though the call was a tough one to make, they ended up continuing with the Kalex 2015 model. 

 -This was not one of the easiest decisions to make, as both the 2014 and 2015 models have their respective strengths and weaknesses. We decided to go further with the 2015 bike, as we believe it will develop more in the long run and some upgrades might be available from the manufacturer during the season. Last year we got the the most out of the old bike and in a sense there is no point in continuing development work with that model, since the maximum performance level was already found, Kallio clarified. 

 -I am satisfied with the decision, as now we have a strong strategy which to focus on. I personally was rooting for the old model, but my crew chief Antonio Jimenez stood strong on the idea to develop the new bike. I trust him and we took this decision together, Kallio confirmed. 

 Kallio is looking forward to a well-run weekend in Jerez, which is one of his favourite tracks. Last year he cleared the tables by dominating in free practises and scoring both pole position and first place in the race. This year he is aware of the big expectations set on him, not least by himself personally. 

 -The season start was not on the fantastic side, but when looking back to our performance development in the races, already Argentina showed that we are on the right track. The GP result in Las Termas de Rio Hondo helped me regain lots of self confidence and trust towards the bike and therefore I look forward to the Jerez race with a calm mind. 

 -The circuit of Jerez is so familiar to all riders due to serving as an official test track, in addition to a  long history as a GP track, so I have no actual experience-related advantage here. Correct bike settings play a big role, because the track temperatures can soar high, especially in the afternoon. This will affect the grip in a negative way, which means that the rider needs to trust the limits of the bike and know exactly where they are. In these conditions no one is able to use the settings of winter tests, so we also will go ahead with the settings from Argentina and take it on from there, Kallio finishes. 

 

« Back