Prospect of fewer tests bothers Kallio on his promotion to MotoGP

Tyre manufacturer Bridgestone’s cost-cutting measures annoy newcomers

Mika Kallio

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By Hannu Hänninen
     
      Finnish motorcycle racer Mika Kallio, who celebrated his 26th birthday earlier this month, has finally ascended to MotoGP, the Formula One marque of bike racing.
      Regrettably a rulebook change, according to which only one tyre manufacturer will remain in the series, is taking place at the same time as Kallio joins the big boys.
      The International Motorcycling Federation (FIM) decided some time ago that between 2009 and 2011 the Japanese manufacturer Bridgestone will be the only tyre supplier in the MotoGP class.
     
”The situation with testing is slightly worse than what the MotoGP riders have got accustomed to. Some planned tests have been cancelled”, Kallio explains, not altogether happily.
      "This is because the only tyre manufacturer did not see it necessary to provide more tyres for the tests”, continues Kallio, during a visit to Finland.
      “Of course the situation is the same for everybody, but it affects us newcomers more, as we will now end up with fewer test kilometres under our belts.”
     
Kallio is definitely sure of only one test before the start of the new season.
      “The next test will take place in Jerez in Southern Spain on November 26-27. After that a testing ban comes into force, and it will continue until the end of January. Because of this tyre situation, at the moment there is no precise information available on the remaining tests in early 2009.”
      According to some sources, next year, before the season gets going in earnest there would be only three two-day test sessions available in the MotoGP class.
      These sessions are rumoured to take place at Sepang in Malaysia, Losail in Qatar, and Jerez.
      The cancelled tests are the traditional Sepang test, which has customarily taken place at the end of January, and a test on the fast Phillip Island track in Australia that has on numerous years followed the Sepang test.
     
For Kallio, testing would be vital from the point of view of getting used to his working environment and developing the equipment, but also for assuming a new riding style that the bigger bike calls for.
      “When switching to a heavier bike, the cornering speeds always drop. In practice we aim for more angular lane choices. The idea is to get the bike back into the upright position as quickly as possible for maximum acceleration down the straight”, Kallio explains.
      To improve his handling of the larger bike Kallio plans to train at the gym regularly.
      “Next season I am going to need more strength and endurance. I have the winter and the early spring to get there.”
     
Despite the tyre problems, it is not all bad news for Kallio. The information about his team Pramac Racing being a satellite team for Ducati is already outdated.
      “Nowadays Pramac Racing is referred to as Ducati’s 'Junior Team'. In practice this means that we have the factory’s support, and that our equipment is identical to that used by the works team”, Kallio says.
      “The team’s operation will change quite a bit next year. The factory will be more and more involved, and this of course will add to the team’s competitiveness.”
      Kallio will be provided with the same 2009 model of the Ducati Desmosedici bike that will also be used by the works team pilots Casey Stoner (MotoGP World Champion in 2007) and Nicky Hayden.
      Kallio will get his first taste of the bike in the Jerez tests later this month.
     
Kallio has clearly set himself ambitious goals to do better than last season's team riders, who raced under the Alice Team banner.
      “I do not want to reveal yet what exactly these goals are. But I can say I have set them high. One does not come to the MotoGP class just to make up the numbers.”
     
Kallio believes his toughest competitors next season will be the guys who finished at the top of the table last season. This suggests that Kallio believes he also will be fighting for the top placings.
      “For sure the same guys will be at the top once again, in other words Valentino Rossi, Casey Stoner, Daniel Pedrosa, Jorge Lorenzo and presumably also Andrea Dovizioso. Naturally they will be my greatest competitors”, Kallio points out.
      The five riders mentioned by Kallio were coincidentally the top five in the 2008 MotoGP series.
     
His rise to MotoGP also means a heftier paycheck for Kallio.
      Without revealing any figures, Kallio says: “It is only natural that in the premier series the salaries are higher.”
     
Helsingin Sanomat / First published in print 8.11.2008

More on this subject:
 FACTFILE: First Finnish rider in MotoGP, but not the first at road racing's highest level

Previously in HS International Edition:
  Mika Kallio sees childhood dreams come true with MotoGP contract (20.10.2008)

Links:
  Mika Kallio (Wikipedia)
  Mika Kallio official site
  MotoGP: Mika Kallio
  Ducati Desmosedici (Wikipedia)
  Pramac Racing - Alice Team

HANNU HÄNNINEN / Helsingin Sanomat
hannu.hanninen@hs.fi