Kallio 19th in Silverstone QP - The frustration is unbearable

Mika Kallio was placed 19th in Saturday’s qualification practice of Silverstone grand prix in Great Britain. The gap between Kallio and pole setter Sam Lowes was a whole1,3 seconds and Kallio’s weekend continued with familiar grip issues, which are still haunting him. 

-I have not smiled that much this year. Every weekend, race after race, we face the same problems. We have played all the tricks in our book and there is absolutely nothing we can do about the situation. Whatever we change, the effect is minuscule. This is ridiculous, Kallio huffed. 

-Today I could have ridden with bare wheels and the result would have probably been the same. It is completely incomprehensible how whatever settings we use, the problem remains. Usually, even the slightest tweak to the bike gives out a big change to the feel of riding. This year I have ridden a short bike, long bike, front balanced bike, rear balanced bike, soft bike, hard bike, etc. And every time, the level is equal. I positively cannot understand how this is possible. Anyhow, I know my pace is there and the abilities to ride have not disappeared, since on the few tracks where we have been able to get the tyres working, my results have always been on top, Kallio continued. 

During Saturday’s qualifying practice Kallio rode his best time on lap four and after that we was not able to quicken his pace further. 

-We changed the tyres mid-session, but unfortunately I was not able to improve the lap time. Today  our team did everything we could and this is where it got us. It is a huge shame, since everyone is a bit sad due to the low level of results achieved. We have given every inch of our abilities to make things better, but it’s not helping. We play well together with the crew chief, mechanics and technicians, so the situation is definitely not their fault, Kallio stated. 

Kallio admits that the season of 2015 has been most the emotionally distressing throughout his career and for a rider that is used to success and competitive results, the sudden drop has been hard to bear.

The world of MotoGP is quite brutal and one bad season can basically destroy your whole career. At the moment I have no other options but to keep fighting and trying my best every day. Gathering motivation is a hard job when you know you will be competing for low positions, but the worst thing is that I have not been able to enjoy riding for a long, long time, Kallio sighed. 

The weekend in Silverstone has demonstrated many crashes and changing conditions throughout practice sessions and Kallio still looks forward to heavy rain for Sunday, since he thinks it might give him a chance to rise a few positions during the race. 

-One good thing that could happen for tomorrow would be a proper rain, since bad conditions always shuffle the deck a bit. This way I might gain a small advantage in the start and pass some riders who are not too happy riding in the wet. Let’s see what happens, I will give my best anyhow, Kallio finished.  

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