RR WCH 125 8TH RACE: NETHERLANDS GRAND PRIX / ASSEN - FANTASTIC VICTORY FOR MIKA KALLIO
25 June 2006 - KTM-Sportmotorcycles AG

Mika Kallio emerged victorious in a furious race at the Dutch TT in Assen on Saturday. Following his 10th career pole position and a perfect start, the Finnish rider had his hand full to ward off permanent challenges and to defend his lead during this race. Mika emerged the winner by a nose after the 22 hotly contested laps of the race. The victory and 25 valuable points in the competition went to the “Flying Fin'' and Team Red Bull KTM GP 125.

Red Bull KTM Junior Stefan Bradl started from 24 on the grid and teammate Michael Ranseder from position 40 following yet to be defined problems during qualifying. Bradl did not get away well at the start and in the beginning of the race settled into position 26. Then he crashed in the third lap during an overhaul manouver and rejoined the race at the end of the field. After that, he was only able to finish the race in 31st place. Michael Ranseder from Austria started in the second last row on the grid and after a lightning start managed to make up 10 places in the first lap. Finally he finished 22nd in the race after a hard fought battle.

Julian Simon was unable to race following an injury he sustained in the Catalunya Grand Prix last weekend and will only be back on the racing circuit at the Grand Prix in Brno, Czech Republic.

Mika Kallio # 36 Red Bull KTM GP 125 – Winner
“I had a good start and felt very confident during the race. The first plan I had was to stay in front. I tried hard in the first laps but couldn’t get ahead. So I had to change the strategy as the competitors didn’t ride according to my plan. After one of them overtook me I tried to study them and made a new plan to stay in second place until the last lap. I also saw that in most corners I could brake a bit later. In some sections in the last few laps I had two guys in front of me and I was starting to worry a bit about what would happen at the finish. In the final lap we almost went into the very fast left hand corner together. Then we went into the chicane and they tried to close the door on me. I managed to find a space and put my front wheel right between them and just gave it everything. I’m happy about this important win. This brings me a bit closer to the top of the championship. The gap is still big but we are only half way through the season. Last race I crashed; this round I won, so we will see.
Overall the race was very close with constantly good lap times. It was a very nice enjoyable race for a racer. My KTM was just running perfect over the whole weekend. Since Barcelona we found new set up that gives me a lot confidence in my bike.

Michael Ranseder # 9 Red Bull KTM Junior Team – 22nd Place
“Today my KTM was running well. I had a perfect start and was able to make up 10 places in the first lap. I worked my way up through another nine places by lap five. After that I was racing with a group of four or five riders and again and again I was in the front. In the last lap, in the chicane before the start and finish, I missed my braking point and the others used the chance to pass.''

Stefan Bradl # 17 Red Bull KTM Junior Team – 31st Place
“My start was not perfect and then I crashed during an overhaul maneuver. I don’t really know what happened. Maybe one of the others touched me or something like that. By the time I got back in the race the rest of the field had got away. After the crash the cowling slipped down and that was a problem for the air intake. Because of this I wasn’t able to put in any really fast laps.''

Track: dry
Air : 18°C

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