Electrical issue ruins Kallios historical race - happy weekend ends in bitter disappointment

Six years have passed since Mika Kallio last raced in the top league of motorcycle track racing in MotoGP. Today, Kallio had the honor of starting in the Valencia race, which was a historical first for KTM - their first world championship race. Kallio has been working as KTM’s test rider this year, and received a wild card spot in the season-ending Valencia race.

The eventful weekend ended on an unfortunate note, when Kallio had to cut the race short after only eleven laps. Kallio’s bike was struck by an electrical issue in the fifth lap, which caused the bike to lose power and the it’s driveability to suffer. A few laps later the bike lost its traction control, and the tyres started to wear out quickly. Losing yet another sensor was the final straw, which forced Kallio to quit the race. Kallio was disappointed by the race being cut short, as he had higher expectations.

- It did leave a bitter taste in my mouth. We did not even reach our minimum goal, which was to finish the race. Even before this weekend we did know that we were not quite ready with the technical side, and that this could happen. Although, the problems we encountered were peculiar in the sense that we have over 10 000 kilometers of testing behind us, and this has never happened before. But of course, in the race these “one euro sensors” blew out, cursed Kallio.

However, the beginning of the race was promising for both Kallio and KTM. Kallio held his position for the first few laps and had no major issues with the near-racing fellow riders.

- It does bother me that the race ended so early for me. We got too few good laps to gain valuable information about the functioning of the bike in the later stages of a race. It would’ve been nice to see what we could achieve at our best, since the beginning was reasonable and felt good, Kallio continued.

- But it does no good to worry about these things by myself, because I did what I could. This is how things ended this time, and I couldn’t help it. It was important to see that we can race in the same league as the others, and the next step is to approach an average performance before raising our goals, Kallio said.

KTM is going to enter the world championship season as a first-timer from the beginning of next season. The experienced Kallio recognises the challenges of a new stable, but the strengths are clear as well. Kallio wanted to give recognition to his stable’s staff and their working conditions.

- As I’ve said, a year is a short period of time in motorsports, and you can’t build a perfect bike in that timeframe. We need, at least, another year of testing and development to approach the best. We are still that much behind the top stables. In our stable, we have the required resources and the quality factors. Absolutely everyone has the motivation to work meticulously. I met the owners here during this weekend, and succeeding in motorsports is very important to them. It is a privilege to be involved with a group like this, thanked Kallio.

Kallio, who became the father of a girl yesterday, travels home in the evening of Father’s day to see his new baby. A few weeks from now, Kallio will face this year’s final test in Jerez, Spain, where he will get to ride with Bradley Smith - the new KTM rider of next season.

Results, MotoGP, world championship in Valencia:

1. Jorge Lorenzo (SPA) 45,54.228

2. Marc Marquez (SPA) +1.185

3. Andrea Iannone (ITA) +6.603

4. Valentino Rossi (ITA) +7.668

5. Maverick Vinales (SPA) +10.610

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Mika Kallio quit the race after finishing the 11th lap out of 30.

Results, MotoGP, final results of the world championship series:

1. Marc Marquez (SPA) 298p.

2. Valentino Rossi (ITA) 249p.

3. Jorge Lorenzo (SPA) 233p.