Kallio 20th after a bizarre race in Silverstone

The Sunday man Mika Kallio found no extra powers to make miracles this Sunday on the track of Silverstone. When the chequered flag was out, Kallio found himself at position 20 in the results list and the weekend gone bad was sealed with an equally terrible result. The demanding weather conditions of Britain offered additional challenges to all teams and most riders had to finish the race on a dry track with worn out rain tyres.  Kallio hoped for a rainy weather, but when it finally arrived, it arrived the Finn no solace. 

-I was looking forward to a wet race, since I have previously been strong during rainy conditions. I have no clue why riding was today even more tricky than usually, since typically rain is a clear benefit for me. Especially conditions such as today’s, when the track dries during the race, have been favourable for me in the past. I struggled enormously today, so no benefit there, Kallio sighed. 

During the Silverstone GP the track dried mid-session and some riders opted to change tyres during the race. This is a rare phenomenon in Moto2, since a lot of time is lost due to the rule that no extra bike is allowed on standby. The race was exciting until the very end, since also leading riders struggled with worn out tyres and had to make it to the end with virtually no grip at all. When the chequered flag was out, the track’s surface was full of rubbery bits and pieces from destroyed rain tyres. 

-We all experienced wear in our tyres, but this did not affect my riding that much. I had no feel to the bike at all, not in the beginning, nor in the end of the race. It did not cross my mind to change to slick tyres mid-race, as the process is so time consuming that it would have been no use anyhow, Kallio commented. 

-I am mostly disappointed due to the fact, that these are the conditions when I usually shine. Today we were light years away from a decent pace, and this is something unacceptable, Kallio continued. 

The MotoGP-tour will continue onwards to Misano, San Marino. Kallio believes, that the track profile of the Marco Simoncelli circuit is better for him in these conditions and that maybe the new asphalt will lessen the problems faced previously. 

-Misano might not be that bad for us, because the track is slower. Our problems might not be that fierce, but it’s not going to be an easy weekend anyhow. It is difficult to predict or analyse what will happen, but I will continue doing my best race per race and see where it gets us, Kallio finished.

« Back