Second place for Mika after epic Silverstone battle

Tito Rabat got the better of a titanic battle with his Marc VDS teammate, Mika Kallio, to take his sixth victory of the season in the British Moto2 Grand Prix today.

It is the third time in 2014 that the Marc VDS duo has occupied the top two steps of the podium and today’s victory means that Rabat has now won half of the 12 races run so far, giving him a 17 point lead over Kallio at the top of the Championship standings.

After struggling with both the conditions and set up at Silverstone all weekend, it was a welcome win for Rabat, who was visibly relieved as he pulled up to occupy the number one slot in parc ferme post race.

For Kallio there was only disappointment, after losing out to his teammate in a race he’d pretty much dominated until the very closing stages. Despite putting up an aggressive defence on the final lap, the 31-year-old Finn had no answer for his equally aggressive Marc VDS teammate.

Mika Kallio // 2nd
“The race was a little bit how we expected today. I pushed hard from the start to try and pull away at the front, even though it’s not easy to do here at Silverstone. I managed to build up a lead of around 1.5s by the halfway point, which wasn’t too bad, but I knew that Tito would be fast at the end, like always. He dropped his lap time and started to close, so I started to push again, but I wasn’t able to improve my time. At this track, once you are close enough for the slipstream, it gives you around 0.5s and you can close a gap very quickly.  I knew it was going to be a tough fight, and it was, but obviously I’m not happy with second. There’s a long way to go in the championship yet, so I’m not overly concerned about the points gap, but after today I know I maybe need to be more aggressive with Tito in the future, especially when it comes down to the two of us at the end of a race.”

Michael Bartholemy // Team Principal
“This is the third time Tito and Mika have finished one-two, but the first time they’ve gone head-to-head on track over the final lap. I’m sure it was exciting for the fans but, as you can probably imagine, it was a little more nerve wracking for us on the pit wall. It was a good battle and Tito did well to get the upper hand after a difficult weekend, but I’m sure Mika will now be keen to repay the favour next time out at Misano, a track he likes and has gone well at in the past. A great job by both crews this weekend and we’ve pulled even further ahead now in the Championship standings, which is also very important.”

Photo: Gold and Goose Photography

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