Kallio to enter Misano GP weekend with a new strategy

Mika Kallio arrived yesterday to Italy with a roaring hunger for points and podiums. Despite the rough season, Kallio and his team are now honing their tactics for the upcoming GP in the Marco Simoncelli circuit of Misano, San Marino. The hugely disappointing weekend of Silverstone has been pushed aside and Kallio and his crew have their focus set on achieving a better result in the home race of the Italtrans-team. 

-During last week we made a quick stop in Finland, where we engaged in several PR-activities. We arranged a media event for the local sports press,  organised several two-seater riding days with sponsors, and I also got the chance to take part in the filming of a popular Friday night tv-show, Posse. We had a lot of fun shooting with the Dudesons and rode inside Helsinki’s most popular indoor mall. It was great fun, Kallio laughed. 

-Now we are working on getting our gear ready for tomorrow and my concentration is fully set in riding. I am motivated and eager to get on the bike and we have a new strategy for the weekend, so I hope this brings us good results, Kallio continued. 

During the season Kallio and his team have experimented with an unusually broad range of settings, since finding a proper feel for the bike has seemed every bit impossible this year. Changing the bike’s set ups back and forth is very challenging from the rider’s point of view, since this way he needs to ride a different bike in all sessions. This is very demanding for the rider and decreases trust and familiarisation towards the bike. Therefore Kallio and his crew have now decided to run through the weekend with just one scale of settings, no matter what the results. 

-We are going to ride with the single chosen settings throughout the whole race weekend. Even though I might struggle at first during practices, we will stick to the configuration we all have agreed upon. I need to adapt my riding style and change both the ways I think and ride in order to succeed, but this way I have more time to get used to the bike as it is. Also, I hope this solution would bring a relaxed and more positive atmosphere to riding and our team's work. If I feel calmer and more confident, I am able to push myself more, Kallio explained. 

The new asphalt at the track of Misano is already familiar to Kallio, as he has conducted Michelin tests at the location just a few weeks ago. The weather forecast looks promising and Kallio, through his usual pre-race routines, is ready to begin the fight. 

-Michelin arranged tyre tests here just recently and I was happy to be chosen as a test pilot. I enjoyed both the tyres and the renewed track surface, so I am well aware of the changes done to the circuit. I have prepared for this GP in my traditional way of watching old race videos, as I feel they are a good visual tool for memorising the track’s twists and turns. It is a nice way of mental training and I look forward to returning to last year’s results, when I claimed the pole and took second position in the race, Kallio smiled.

« Back