Mike Di Meglio confirms RR 125cc title for Finnish Ajo Motorsport team

Aki Ajo

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French rider Mike Di Meglio fulfilled his own dreams and those of his Finnish employer Ajo Motorsport on Sunday.
      Di Meglio, 20, won the 125 cc race at the 2008 Australian Grand Prix at Phillip Island, and secured this year’s World Championship title with two races remaining.
      Boisterous celebrations within the Finnish team, which is led by Aki Ajo and based in the newly-formed southern town of Akaa (formerly Toijala and Viiala), started immediately after Di Meglio - who dominated the entire weekend's racing - reached the chequered flag as an overwhelming victor.
     
The championship was a first for both the rider and the Ajo Motorsports team, for which the ongoing season marks its seventh full season in the series.
      “Right from the start this season has gone extremely well with Di Meglio, and cooperation with him has felt really good. Both parties have gone through hardships in the past, but now the entire team’s efforts have been rewarded”, rejoiced team boss Ajo.
      Di Meglio was moved and deliriously happy after the race.
      “The weekend in Australia could not have been better for me, as I won every single session raced here, starting from Friday’s practice.”
     
Di Meglio, who has taken part in 89 World Championship grand prix races during his career, has blossomed into a top rider in the Finnish team. Ajo’s staff has managed to find the right tuning for Di Meglio’s Derbi RSA bike weekend after weekend.
      “The bike worked perfectly the entire time and in the actual race it was nothing short of brilliant. For this and for the whole season a big thank-you goes definitely to my team”, Di Meglio said.
      Aki Ajo also sang praises of his team.
      “A top-notch team that’s doing a great job. A special thanks goes to Jorma Saarinen and Jani Veijonen for their long hard toil”, Ajo stressed.
     
The Phillip Island track is to the Ajo team’s liking. Ajo Motorsport’s first-ever GP victory came on a rainy Australian track in 2003, when Andrea Ballerini, who in the middle of the season came in to replace Finland's Mika Kallio, crossed the finish line as number one, followed by team-mate Mazao Azuma in second place.
     
This time around Kallio came home in third on his KTM bike in the 250cc class.
      “I don’t really have a shot for the championship any more, but I’ll try to challenge Alvaro Bautista for the silver position”, Kallio summarised.
      The winner of the Australian GP was Italian Marco Simoncelli. The Gilera pilot holds a 37-point lead in the Championship points table over the Spaniard Bautista, who finished in second.
      Even though there are still 50 points to be apportioned in the series, Kallio, who is currently 12 points adrift behind Bautista, has only the slimmest of slim mathematical chances of clinching this year’s title.
      Kallio is expected to make the step up next year to the big leagues and MotoGP.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Mika Kallio sees chances of 250 cc title slip in San Marino (1.9.2008)

Links:
  Ajo Motorsport (Wikipedia)
  Moto GP
  Mika Kallio website
  Ajo Motorsport homepage

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