HERO HIROSHI AOYAMA TAKES 7TH POSITION FOR TOMORROWS RACE
13 May 2006 - KTM-Sportmotorcycles AG

RR WCH 250: 4th Round: Grand Prix of China/Shanghai: Final Qualifying (13.05.2006)

It was just two weeks ago that Hiroshi Aoyama made history by securing KTM their first race victory in the 250cc World Championship, after just eight races and just nine months after the KTM 250cc machine made it’s Grand Prix debut at Donington Park in 2005.

But while this result was a morale boost for the KTM team, everyone is well aware of the fact that there is still a lot of work to do if such a result is to become a regular occurrence.

KTM arrive in Shanghai with no reference data for their 250cc machine, having not raced here last year in the quarter litre class. The wet conditions on Friday, and the intermittent rain during today’s final qualifying session proved an additional hurdle, with gearing and chassis set-up particularly difficult to calculate for such a unique track layout that is mostly flowing, but also contains three, 270°first-gear corners in its 5.281 km length.

Rising to the challenge, ''Hero'' Hiroshi Aoyama qualified in seventh position for tomorrow’s 21-lap race, which he will start from the second row of the grid. Aoyama’s Red Bull KTM teammate, Manuel Poggiali, will start from one row further back, after qualifying tenth fastest overall this afternoon.

Hiroshi Aoyama # 4 Red Bull KTM GP 250 –7th position – 2’07.289 “Practice was not so easy, as the conditions were different in almost every sessions. During my last flying lap I got held up in slow traffic and lost valuable time. Seventh position on the grid is not what we were hoping for, but I guess it’s OK given the circumstances today. I’m confident for tomorrow’s race and, even if it’s not possible to repeat my Istanbul success, that won’t stop me fighting hard as I try for a repeat performance.''

Manuel Poggiali # 54 Red Bull KTM GP 250 –10th position – 2’08.058
”This is the first time our bike has been to this circuit, and also the first time I’ve ridden a 250cc machine here. So, overall, I’m happy with what we’ve achieved today, and my tenth position on the grid for tomorrow’s race. I managed to improve lap by lap during practice and qualifying, and we have collected information and data that could prove invaluable tomorrow.''

Harald Bartol – Technical and Managing Director
''Overall I’m happy with today, but we know that there is still a lot of hard work to do, but it doesn’t look to bad for both Hiroshi and Manuel for tomorrow’s race.''

Photo courtesy of Milagro

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