Kallio sixth in free practices of Indianapolis on Friday - satisfied with pace

The first day at the track after MotoGP summer break proved to be a sunny one for Finnish Moto2 rider Mika Kallio. The free practices of Indianapolis GP were a success for Kallio and he finished fifth in FP1 and sixth in FP2, ending up sixth in the combined practice times of Friday with a 0,5seconds gap to the fastest man of the day, Tito Rabat. 

-The day commenced well and I rode a whole 27 laps during the first practice session, without entering the pits at all. The tyres lasted well and I felt surprisingly good, a happy Kallio reported. 

Kallio and his team begun the weekend with settings used last year in the Indianapolis race and even though a lot has changed since, the experiment was positive. 

-We have worked with these settings previously in several GP’s this year, but they have never felt like this during the season. I was not expecting such good feedback from the bike with these settings, but I am not complaining at all, a surprised Kallio continued. 

Kallio’s pace quickened still somewhat during the second practice session of the day, but this was mainly due to the improved track conditions. FP 2 was wholly dedicated to testing out different tyre mix options, to see whether the harder of softer mix would offer a better grip. 

-The track was pretty dusty and dirty during the morning practice, but in the afternoon the grip was a lot better. To our surprise, the softer tyre option mix suited us better in the heat of Indy, even though temperatures soared up to 30 degrees and 50 degrees on track. I was able to improve lap times till the very end of the practice, which is a big step up. Anyhow our biggest challenge this weekend is to make sure the rear tyre will last a full race distance. 

Despite the relatively successful practice sessions, Kallio has mixed feelings entering the Indy race weekend. 

-There is no use trying to speculate what happens tomorrow or Sunday, since the track will change a lot during the weekend and riders who are strong in practices or qualifying, will not necessarily dominate in the race. I don’t feel as good as I did last year, but there is no reason to panic, since things are progressing nicely compared to previous GP’s this season. I have a good race pace, now I just need to work with the team to find a decent compromise with the settings to save the tyres from getting destroyed during the race, Kallio finished.

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