Kallio snatches 250cc pole in season's final race at Valencia
Red Bull KTM's Mika Kallio stormed to pole position in the final minutes of the 250 cc qualifying for the final Grand Prix of the season leaving world champion Jorge Lorenzo in his wake on the Valencia circuit.Kallio clocked 1:35.166 on the Spanish circuit to signal to the thousands of Spanish fans that he will be a force to be reckoned with tomorrow. By taking control of the pole position, KTM's Finnish rider is wrapping up his rookie season in 250 cc with a display of riding skill and cunning on the orange machine and that is a strong signal for both Sunday's race and the 2008 season.
Kallio completed his fastest lap on the tyre compound that will be used for the race and said he was especially pleased to be in front of Lorenzo at his home Grand Prix. "Of course I will try everything to conclude the season with a victory," he said. Kallio's pole was a boost to the team after a difficult first day at the Spanish circuit however his team-mate Hiroshi Aoyama ran into unexpected difficulties and had to settle for a third row starting position with 11th place.
"I had some problem with the engine," Aoyama said. 'And when it counted towards the end of the final qualifying session, I wasn't able to improve my lap time' The Japanese rider said the team would be hoping to have a breakthrough with the settings in the warm-up session on Sunday morning and nevertheless hoped to get away very well in the race.
