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02.09.2007 |
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Aoyama second in Misano for third consecutive
250cc podium |
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Red Bull KTM 250 cc rider Hiroshi Aoyama battled
his way to a fantastic second place in Sunday's
Grand Prix of San Marino to celebrate his third
podium finish in three races. |
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The
Japanese hero, winner of this year's German Grand Prix,
started in seventh position but moved up the ranks with
ever-increasing speed, marking the fastest lap and a new lap
record on his way.
But despite his excellent result, the Japanese rider, known
for his quiet determination and quest for perfection, was
not happy with his start and said he struggled with the feel
of his bike in the opening laps when the tank was full. "But
as the race went on and the fuel level went down, the
handling of the bike steadily improved and I was able to go
faster and to set the new lap record. I caught a few of the
guys and even thought of giving Lorenzo a run for his money,
but he was too far ahead. "
Aoyama paid tribute to his team and said the new chassis of
his KTM machine, tried for the first time on the Misano
circuit this weekend, went well. "The performance was great
even though we only had one day of practice to find the
right settings." On Saturday the heavens opened over the San
Marino circuit and the rainfall was so intense that all
practice was cancelled.
Regrettably team-mate Mika Kallio was not so lucky. The Finn
made a great start and seemed to be headed straight for the
podium when he stole second position from Andrea Dovizioso
in lap 19 of the 26-lap race. Then Aoyama came from behind
at a slightly higher pace and Kallio, endeavouring to match
the pace of his team-mate came unstuck in a spectacular
crash in lap 22. To the relief of his team and spectators,
he walked away with just minor bumps and bruises from the
nasty high-sider. He restarted the bike and attempted to
continue but a damaged rear wheel put an end to his heroic
effort two laps later.
"We haven't been able to completely solve all of our set-up
problems, but I still had a great run and my thoughts were
on a podium finish," Kallio said. "When Hiroshi came past, I
tried to follow him. I didn't feel I had done anything
different to the previous laps but my rear wheel stepped out
and the bike spat me off. Only later, my guys told me that I
was slightly off-line in this situation, and that the angle
I was carrying was a bit too lean. I tried to continue even
though it was quite a heavy impact and I felt some pain in
my foot, but two laps later, the bike wobbled heavily and I
had to stop - the rear rim was broken and I had a flat rear
tyre."
Aoyama and Kallio are currently sixth and seventh in the
season's standings respectively. Kallio trails his team-mate
by 14 points.
Results
1. Jorge Lorenzo, Spain, Aprilia 42:54.427
2. Hiroshi Aoyama, Japan, KTM, 42:58.005
3. Hector Barbera, Spain, Aprilia, 43:01.468
4. Thomas Luthi, Switzerland, Aprilia, 43:01.640
5. Alex De Angeles, San Marino, Aprilia, 43:02.091
Mika Kallio, Finland, DNF
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Yet another podium for Red Bull KTM's Hiroshi Aoyama
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Kallio ready to challenge in the 250 cc race
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Reflective moment for REd bull KTM's "Hero" Hiroshi
Aoyama |
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02.09.2007 |
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Koyoma puts Red Bull KTM on the 125 cc podium in
San Marino |
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Tomoyoshi Koyama applied his never-give-up energy
and passion to the 125cc race at the San Marino
Grand Prix and his determination and skill put the
Red Bull KTM team on the podium in third place. |
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The
diminutive Japanese rider picked up 16 championship points
for his effort and is now lying third in the season's
standings. Koyama went out hard and strong in the opening
laps in the wake of the front pack of riders. His
determination to stick close to the group paid off when
Hector Faubel and Simone Corsi collided and crashed, handing
Koyama his fifth podium finish of the year. He whipped
through the chequered flag just over eight seconds behind
the leader.
Koyama said it had been a great race with "a happy ending
for me and Red Bull KTM". He said he tried to stick with the
front group in the early part of the race but they were too
fast for him. Instead he opted to keep on pushing, confident
that he would be able to catch them if he hung onto their
tail. Then with just four laps to go things started to hot
up. "Lucas Pesek crashed right in front of me, and I lost
positions again," Koyama said. "There were just four laps to
go in the race and I almost gave up hopes of a podium. I
decided to just follow the top guys, to keep my rhythm and
settle for my position. Then I saw Faubel and Simone crash
in front of me and I immediately realised that this meant a
podium for me." Now lying third in the standings, Koyama
said he was hoping that his run of luck would stick with
him, especially since he will be racing in front of his home
crowd at the Japanese Grand Prix in just a few weeks.
Swiss team-mate Randy Krummenacher also put in a strong ride
to be part of a big pack of riders and to finish sixth
despite some problems with throttle control on his bike.
Krummenacher went out on his spare bike after experiencing
some difficulties in the morning warm-up session. "The
set-up was good," Krummenacher said. "I only had a problem
with the way the power kicked in, so I tried to concentrate
on opening the throttle a little later than the others, and
this worked quite well."
"What helped me a lot was my good physical condition. The
others started to make mistakes but I managed to keep a
consistent pace. In the end, I overtook Stefan Bradl. I went
past him on the inside line in a fast right-hand corner. All
in all, if we look at how everything started this weekend
and where we are now, it was a great race for me!"
Dirt track ace Steve Bonsey had a great start, only to be
slowed by an incident in the opening lap when another rider
high-sided going into one of the tight right handed corners.
"I tried to get past him on the outside line, but then I
had to slow down and wait for him to slide past. That put me
all the way back in last position. I lost my drive and
rhythm and then I started to make mistakes." The young
American came back to pass a group of tail-enders to finish
twenty sixth from the finishing 32 riders.
Results
1. Mattia Pasini, Italy, Aprilia, 39:47.944
2. Gabor Talmacsi, Hungary, Aprilia, 39:52.718
3. Tomoyoshi Koyama, Japan, KTM, 39:56.520
4. Sergio Gadea, Spain, Aprilia, 40:03.763
5. Pol Espargaro, Spain, Aprilia, 40:11.916
6. Randy Krummenacher, Switzerland, KTM, 40:13.103
26. Steve Bonsey, USA, KTM, 40:53.220
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Koyama savors moment of glory |
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Koyama with podium in his sights |
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Krummenacher in consultation with Konrad Hefele
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Bonsey in action on the San Marino circuit |
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