Kallio got excited about his comeback - poor result didn’t spoil mood

Mika Kallio previously raced in the MotoGP six years ago. Today he took a KTM bike to the practice sessions in Valencia for the very first time. Kallio was excited to ride again, but faced some surprising problems during practice, which caused him to finish last in the combined practice times. Despite the problems Kallio seemed to be in a good mood after the team meeting.

- I feel like I won’t be thinking about this day. It was quite a typical day for me. Everything is alright while testing but during the GP weekend all kinds of problems suddenly appear. We had challenges with suspension setup, which had a massive impact on the grip of the rear tyre, Kallio explained  

KTM previously tested their bikes in Valencia a couple of weeks ago, and according to Kallio his feeling and the results with the bike were much better then. Kallio’s lap times even were a second better than today.
 
- The laps today were a bit weird because a few weeks ago we didn’t have these sort of problems with the grip at all. That’s how it is sometimes. We just have to stay positive and make progress tomorrow, which I think we’ll certainly do. I don’t think my speed has disappeared in the past few weeks, Kallio said.
 
Kallio’s top speed was near the middle stage in today’s results but the problem seemed to be the accelerating after turning due to the lack of good grip. Kallio couldn’t yet say what kind of changes they are going to do with the setup for tomorrow’s practice and qualifying.
 
- We didn’t make any decisions for tomorrow yet, but it’s pretty obvious that we will make some big adjustments. We don’t have anything to lose and this level is unsatisfying. We’ll improve the grip for both tyres and that will make the lap times drop a lot if we succeed. There’s no problem with the engine, Kallio told.
 
- It was really great to be back on track with the other riders. Maybe I and the team had some extra excitement today. It is truly great to be here in Valencia now. I enjoy this a lot. Tomorrow will be a totally new day and I’m feeling good, Kallio finished with smile on his face.
 
Saturday morning will start with the third practice session and MotoGP qualifying starts at 14.10. The race will start on Sunday at 15.00.  

 

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