Aleix Espargaro back in top ten as Kallio hits more bad luck

Aleix Espargaró was both relieved and happy to have made a return to finishing inside the top ten at the Red Bull Indianapolis Grand Prix on Sunday, as he placed ninth. The Pramac Racing rider enjoyed an impressive ride as he climbed his way up the field from 14th on the starting grid.

“I’ve never ridden in such conditions. I’m exhausted after this race but very happy with how it finished,” said Espargaró in reference to the temperature. “I made a good start and didn’t lose any positions, and in the opening laps found my rhythm and tried to overtake some other riders. On lap five I got past Capirossi and Edwards and closed the gap to Mika, but unfortunately I didn’t have the pace that would have allowed me to catch the others.”

“With the heat the track had become very slippery and for the last few laps I just tried to finish my race without taking any unnecessary risks. Now I can’t wait to race at Misano which is one of my favourite tracks,” added the 20 year-old.

On the other side of the Pramac garage team-mate Mika Kallio was left to rue further bad luck as he hit a bump in the track with ten laps to go. The Finn was running in ninth place and had seventh position in his sights when he lost the front of his Desmosedici GP10.

“It’s such bad luck. I had a better start than usual and soon I was up to eighth and was almost four seconds off Simoncelli. Bautista caught me and we started to run together at a fast pace, and within another seven laps we’d closed the gap to Simoncelli,” explained Kallio.

“I was fighting with Simoncelli and Bautista for seventh but then I hit a bump and lost the front straight away, and found myself on the floor. I could have easily fought with the others for seventh, or at least have gained a top-ten position. I’m very disappointed with how things went but as is so often happening this season I am not getting the results I deserve, for one reason or another.”

Source: http://www.motogp.com/en/news/

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Aleix Espargaro on for first Laguna visit

Aleix Espargaró is excited at the prospect of racing at Laguna Seca for the first time this weekend, after being given the all-clear to do so. The Pramac Racing rider’s participation was in doubt for a short period following the weekend’s events at Sachsenring, where he suffered a crash in the race.

An X-ray after the incident on Sunday detected a fracture in the Spaniard’s C7 vertebra, but after closer inspection and further medical opinion it was revealed to be an old injury and will not prevent him from having his first experience at Laguna.

“Luckily I have not broken anything in the fall. I was a bit worried when I was in Chemnitz hospital because the doctors had no common opinion on the diagnosis. After the X-ray some said that my C7 vertebra was fractured and that I had to rest for two weeks, whist others argued it was an old fracture. Fortunately, the final diagnosis was that it didn’t happen in the crash,” explained Espargaró.

“I have always heard about Laguna Seca and the famous Corkscrew, and I cannot wait to see if the change in direction and fast downhill descent takes your breath away as I have heard.”

Concluding, the 20 year-old added: “I have studied the track with my engineers and it will be very important to be fast immediately on Friday, and then to continue to progress throughout the weekend.”

Team-mate Mika Kallio will also be facing the track for the first time, after being forced to sit out last year’s race in his debut premier class season following a crash at Assen.

Source: http://www.motogp.com/en/news/

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Frustration for Mika Kallio after progressive weekend

Mika Kallio was experiencing a good level of progress in his feeling on board the satellite Ducati of the Pramac Racing team at the eni Motorrad Grand Prix Deutschland over the weekend, before a crash in the restarted race ended his participation disappointingly early.

The Finn made a good start to the original race which was red flagged after a crash for Randy de Puniet, and then crashed at turn one once it was restarted.

“The first start in the race was not too bad and we were able to get into the top ten positions more or less, and we were fighting for that. But then the crash happened,” said Kallio.

“The second start was not too bad but immediately I crashed in the first corner. I think the rear tyre was just cold and as soon as I touched the throttle I lost the rear, and the race was finished for me.”

Added to the disappointment was the fact that Kallio was feeling good on his bike and believed he was on course for a good result, having experienced a difficult run of late.

“We thought it would be a good race for us because everything was going better than in the other races and we were in much better positions, and our lap times were okay. So we are disappointed because of that,” he concluded.

Source: http://www.motogp.com/en/news/

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