Only a week after more misfortune struck Pramac Racing Ducatis at the Indianapolis Grand Prix, the team roll into San Marino this weekend, for the Misano Grand Prix. And Aleix Espargaro and Mika Kallio will be hoping to emulate Tony Elias’ success at the track in 2008, when the current Moto2 pace-setter scored Pramac’s last podium finish.
Hoping for a better performance this time round is Mika Kallio. The Finn was looking good for 9th place at the previous round, until a quarter of a lap from the end of the race he hit a bump, and his race ended in the gravel, an occurrence that is all too familiar to Kallio this season.
Looking forward to Misano, Kallio said, “I hope that the bad luck that has affected some of my races of this season is over now, with the fall in Indianapolis. I was trying to keep up with the riders ahead of me but I could not avoid the hole in the asphalt. It’s too bad because I could have finished the race among the top ten. My attention is now on Misano, which is one of my favorite tracks. I have had a good seventh place finish last year as Stoner’s substitute. I started the race in eleventh position and lap after lap I managed to overtake my rivals and obtain seventh which was the best result of my rookie year. With a little bit of luck this year I’ll improve.”
For Espargaro, Indianapolis was a new experience for him. The rookie hadn’t had to deal with the sort of soaring temperatures like the ones that were seen in the race before, and this affected his performance. “The last laps in Indianapolis were very difficult for me,” he said. “The heat meant it was difficult to keep on pushing, which is too bad because I could have fought with Simoncelli and Bautista for 7th and 8th position, however the important thing is to have finished the race.”
“Misano is one of my favorite tracks. I have achieved my best starting position on the grid, 3rd in 2008 when I was racing in the 250cc. Last year was not so bad despite starting 15th, it was my second Grand Prix in the MotoGP category and I was aiming to conquer a good position. Finishing 11th partially repaid the work done by my technicians throughout the weekend. This year’s goal is to significantly improve my starting position and then my final race position.”
