Kallio: We need to start from scratch with the new team

Big news were brought to daylight recently during the San Marino GP, when Moto2-rider Mika Kallio announced his departure from team Italtrans and new contract with QMMF. After just a half a day of testing after the Misano race, the Finn now faces the Aragon GP weekend with a fresh start to the final part of the season. Kallio admits everything happened quite fast, but he is happy with the way things turned out. 

-Team Italtrans and I reached a common conclusion in Misano, that the season we have experienced together cannot continue like this any longer. Their sponsors were upset with the lack of results and I had already started negotiations for next year, so we decided to call it quits together, because the situation was not beneficial to either party, Kallio explained. 

-At the same time, we learned that Anthony West is departing from team QMMF and since we have had many former negotiations with them in the past, it seemed like a good fit. The transition took place immediately in Misano and we reached an agreement for the remainder of the season 2015. We are also discussing about a contract for next year, but first all of us want to see how the new Speed Up bike feels for me. I suspect a decision for next season will be made after the Aragon GP, Kallio continued. 

Kallio has an eventful weekend ahead of him, since he has both a new bike and a new crew to get used to. 

-I have made so far only 40 laps with the new Speed Up bike and WP suspension, so on the technical side everything is more or less new to me. During the one day test after Misano GP, we had only time to apply some basic set-ups suited for my height and weight. All the fine tuning that goes with the riding style we need to find and apply here in Aragon during the free practices. A lot of work ahead, but I am confident we will find progress during the weekend. We are naturally a bit behind of other teams now, since we need to start from scratch, but I am sure we will do a good job together, Kallio commented. 

The familiar track of Aragon shows no mercy to Kallio and his new crew, since this track is used for testing by several teams and most riders know the track by heart. Even though Kallio faces the GP weekend with less experience on his current bike, he is positive hard work will pay off sooner or later. 

-The bike feels more like a race bike now. The Speed Up chassis is stiffer than it’s predecessor and offers no room for mistakes. Riding requires a lot more focus due to the feedback the bike gives and I am still learning the limits on this one. Feels good, let’s see how this weekend turns out, Kallio finished. 

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