MotoGP
Istanbul GP 125: third place for Tomoyoshi Koyama
23 aprile 2007
Unimpressed by his hard-charging rivals, who twice ran into him, the 24-year old Japanese rider who joined the KTM factory team this season made the best possible use of his superior top speed and great late Braking skills. Again and again Koyama put himself into podium contention, securing his third place only in the final lap of the race. The Japanese rider now has 26 championship points and is equal seventh on the season’s standings. The team’s junior factory riders had a mixed day with Randy Krummenacher celebrating a personal success by securing his first world championship point for the season. Steve Bonsey, the team’s new recruit and American dirt track racer was riding on the Istanbul Park racing circuit for the first time. He took a spill in the second lap of the race but jumped back on the bike and still managed to finish 25th in the end. Team Boss Harald Bartol declared the race day “half a good and half a bad day”, with more success in the 125cc class than in the 250cc when Mika Kallio finished sixth and Hiroshi Aoyama had to retire after a crash in the fourth lap. “Tomoyoshi’s third place is great, congratulations to him and his crew. Judging just by how good his motorcycle was, he could have finished even higher up on the podium. Randy Krummenacher’s engine didn’t work quite as well today and we have to look into this problem. Tomoyoshi Koyama (Red Bull KTM 125 – 3rd) “This is a lucky circuit for me, because I finished third here two years ago, and now I did it again! My bike was very, very fast which helped me on the last lap. I was pushed back to sixth position but I was able to regain ground in the straight and catch my rivals before going into the final tight corners. I am very happy about this success because the battle was so hard that I had finished my tyres by the middle of the race. I was sliding all over the place, with the front, with the rear, just everywhere. On the last four laps, I also got a little bit nervous because I crashed out of the previous race in Jerez with four laps to go when I also had a podium finish within reach.” The Japanese factory rider said he is looking forward to the next Grand Prix (May 6, 2007 in Shanghai, China). “Shanghai has got a very long, 1.3 kilometre main straight, but my KTM is so fast that I believe I will even be able to fight for victory!” Koyama predicted. Randy Krummenacher (Red Bull KTM 125 – 15th) "During the warm-up session in the morning, my motorcycle ran like clockwork, but it didn’t feel quite the same in the race. The power delivery was too abrupt, much the same as the problem we all had in Qatar. Because of this I couldn’t open the throttle at the corner exits as early as if I would have liked to. But I was able to make up most of the ground that I’d lose on the brake, and in the end, I still had a super race. I was able to fight, I scored my first point, and now I feel I am addicted to this type of success. I can’t wait for the next race in China. By then the injury to my hand should have healed up completely!" Steve Bonsey (Red Bull KTM 125 – 25th) "I tried to out-brake some other riders and I bit off a bit more than I could chew! The front end of my bike started to jump, and then I lost it and crashed. Luckily I was able to get the bike running again and continue, but it was a tough and lonely ride to finish that race. I just didn’t want to give up! Not a good day for me, but a fantastic day for Tomoyoshi. Congratulations – I can’t wait for the day that I will be able to fight for a podium finish myself!" Sunday’s 19-lap race over a distance of 101.46 km and the third for the season was run in warm, dry conditions. Results 1. Simone Corsi, Italy, Aprilia, 40’03.557 2. Joan Olive, Spain, Aprilia, 40’03.655 3. Tomoyoshi Koyama, Japan, KTM, 40’05.500 4. Raffaele De Rosa, Italy, 40’05.748 5. Gabor Talmacsi, Hungary, Aprilia, 40’06.203 15. Randy Krummenacher, Switzerland, KTM, 40’19.531 25. Steve Bonsey, USA, KTM, 41’14.809 |
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