Motor Sports: Mika Kallio starts RR season with 2nd place in Jerez

Marcus Grönholm brings Peugeot home 2nd in New Zealand despite tyre problems

Mika Kallio

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Mika Kallio, 22, began his fourth full season in motorcycle road racing in fine fashion in Jerez, taking 2nd place in the 125cc Spanish Grand Prix behind Italian rider Marco Simoncelli.
      Kallio was 5th on the grid and was in the front four in the race throughout, and he pulled off a deft overtaking move on the final bend to edge out 3rd-placed Fabrizio Lai from Italy.
      It was Kallio's third time in the runner-up spot, after similar performances in Malaysia in 2003 and last season in Portugal, where the GP tour goes next.
      It was a good day all round for Kallio's Red Bull KTM team, as team-mates Gabor Talmacsi (5th) and Julian Simon (9th) both finished in the points.
     
In New Zealand, Marcus Grönholm collected eight points in the World Rally Championship by finishing as runner-up behind Frenchman Sebastian Loeb (Citroen).
      Grönholm was pleased to be able to keep the current points leader Petter Solberg (Subaru) behind him in third spot, but he lamented the poor performance of Peugeot's Pirelli tyres, which did not deliver the same sort of traction as that enjoyed by the Citroens and Fords, who both use Michelins.
      For Loeb it was a welcome return to form after setbacks in Sweden and Mexico.
      The Peugeot team can be well enough pleased with the weekend. Estonian driver Markko Märtin squeezed past Ford's Toni Gardemeister on Sunday to grab 5th place, and Peugeot currently lead the manufacturers' table with 43 points. Grönholm is sharing fourth place in the drivers' rankings with fellow-Finn Gardemeister. He has 20 points to Solberg's 26. The current table is nicely poised, as sandwiched between the Finns and Norwegian Solberg are Loeb (25 points) and Märtin (23 points).
      The next rally will be held in Sardinia at the end of the month.


Links:
  Mika Kallio official site
  MOTO GP
  World Rally Championship

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