Press Release
February 16, 2005
Valencia Circuit, Spain : 9/10 February 2005.
KALLIO FAST FOR RED BULL KTM TEAM IN VALENCIA TEST
Red Bull KTM riders have completed a successful two day, 125cc grand prix test at the Valencia circuit in Spain with Finnish rider Mika Kallio setting the third fastest time overall.
Kallio was in top form with a best lap of 1'40.58s, just half a second outside the best time posted by Sergio Gadea. Throughout the final day Kallio and Gadea had swapped places at the top of the time sheets.
Joining Kallio in the leading group was Hungarian teammate Gabor Talmacsi who was fourth fastest with a best lap of 1'41.38s. It was an impressive first appearance by Talmacsi with the KTM team.
The Red Bull KTM team have entered three factory riders -- Kallio, Talmacsi and Julian Simon -- in the 125cc world championship.
Riding new 2005 model KTM 125cc machines both Kallio and Talmacsi showed they will be strong contenders for the world road race championship which opens with the Spanish GP at Jerez on Aprilia 10.
Over the two day pre-season test Kallio completed 112 laps and Talmacsi 115. On day one Kallio had posted the fastest lap time of the 22 riders participating in the test.
Missing from the Valencia test was Spanish teenager Julian Simon who is still recovering from a broken collarbone suffered in a motocross accident in January. Simon is expected to ride at the Barcelona test session later this month.
Also at the Valencia test were Red Bull KTM Junior Team riders Michael Randseder, Stefan Bradl, Toni Wirsing and Robin Laser who all rode 2004 model KTM machines.
Talented Austrian rookie Randseder improved his best lap of the first day by 3.7s to complete the two day test with a fastest time of 1'42.28s. Randseder completed 97 laps over the two days.
The test was run in cool conditions with an average temperature of 15 degrees and occasional rain.
Mika Kallio
"This was a good test for me on the new KTM, the bike is already more competitive than last year. My best lap time was more than one second faster than my fastest lap at the Valencia GP just three months ago so this is a good start to our test program. Now I'm looking forward to going to Barcelona for the next test and continuing to prepare for the start of the season."
Gabor Talmacsi
"This was my first time on the KTM so it was an opportunity to learn about the bike and settle in with the team. I still have some work to do on set-up because I'm heavier than Mika and am still not fully comfortable with the seating position. But it's good start to my season on the KTM."
Harald Bartol
"This was a successful first test with new 2005 engine and chassis. There are quite a few changes to geometry, forks, seat and cowlings so we spent a lot of time on set-up. Mika was very fast and he was impressed with the new bike while Gabor also did an excellent job for his first ride on the KTM. At the next test in Barcelona we hope to have some new electronic systems and a revised seat for Gabor who is nine kilograms heavier than Mika. And I expect that Julian Simon will be fit to ride the new bike at the next test in two weeks."
Unofficial lap times after two days
1.- Sergio Gadea (Aprilia) 1.40.060
2.- Thomas Luthi (Honda) 1.40.493
3.- Mika Kallio (KTM) 1.40.584
4.- Gabor Talmacsi (KTM) 1.41.388
5.- Lorenzo Zanetti (Aprilia) 1.41.524
6.- Imre Toth (Aprilia) 1.41.651
7.- Dario Giuseppetti (Aprilia) 1.41.822
8.- Héctor Faubel (Aprilia) 1.41.862
9.- Mateo Túnez (Aprilia) 1.41.940
10.- Julián Miralles (Aprilia) 1.41.995
11.- Andrea Iannone (Aprilia) 1.42.221
12.- Michael Randseder (KTM) 1.42.289
13.- Jordi Carchano (Aprilia) 1.42.728
14.- Sandro Cortese (Honda) 1.42.783
15.- Vincent Braillard (Aprilia) 1.43.145
16.- Sascha Hommel (Malaguti) 1.43.595
17.- Stefan Bradl (KTM) 1.43.870
18.- Karel Abraham (Aprilia) 1.44.390
19.- Michele Pirro (Malaguti) 1.44.423
20.- Hugo Van der Berg (Aprilia) 1.45.313
21.- Toni Wirsing (KTM) 1.45.890
22.- Robin Läser (KTM) 1.46.316
KTM-Sportmotorcycle AG