Aleix Espagaro gets another top 10 finish (8th position) and Mika Kallio fails to finish again. If someone would have said that by Round 4 of the season Aleix Espargaro would be the leading Pramac Ducati rider, and Kallio would be sweating about his job future we probably wouldn’t have believed them…..but here we are.

Fabiano Sterlacchini – Pramac Racing Technical Director
“Unfortunately the result is not what we hoped for, we were aiming to have good placement with both drivers, because we are fully aware of the quality of our bikes. During yesterday’s qualifying we had some problems with Mika’s bike that we had partially solved by changing a few settings and making his bike better balanced for this track. It was a great start for him winning some positions, but when he was in the twelfth position he has slipped compromising his race. I should make my warmest congratulations to Aleix and the other part of the box for the wonderful race. We hope that he will continue to give his best and that he can always gain important positions like today. The eighth place on a so hard track where he has competed only four times in the past is an excellent test for the next races. ”

Aleix Espargarò – Pramac Racing – 8th in the race – 14th in the MotoGP World Championship with 16 points
“I am delighted to have reach the eighth position today. After Le Mans Grand Prix I gained more confidence in my potential and I want to try to improve every race so that I can reduce the gap from the best riders. I like so much to be in the front positions, and I’ll do my best to try to improve even more in the next Gran Prix. I’ve had since Friday a great rhythm on this track, I knew I have to give my best to get a good result in my Team’s home track. I had a good start and I was in the sixth position after the first turn. Unfortunately in the first lap I had a contact with Simoncelli and this made me lose some positions, but I held up my concentration acquiring a good rhythm. I lost a couple of positions, overtaken by Capirossi and Edwards, but from the thirteenth lap I conquered back a couple of position and led the group that was fighting for eighth place until the end. This is a great result for me. I’m now looking forward for the next race to try to improve my position. I’m very happy on how this season is now going. Too bad for the races in Qatar and Jerez where I got just one point. I hope that Mika will return to fight soon for the top positions as he has all the qualities to do it.”

Mika Kallio – Pramac Racing – DNF – 16th in the MotoGP World Championship with 12 points
“What can I say, this hasn’t been the best weekend for me. The pain I felt in my shoulder and some technical problems I encountered yesterday morning didn’t allowed me to get a good position on the grid. We solved some problems this morning during warm up and I found a considerable improvement in the handling of the bike. I started very well, I immediately gained three positions in few laps and I was very close to the group that was fighting for eighth place. Unfortunately, in turn ten I closed too much my steering and I felt off the bike. I wanted to give my best on this track because it is the Pramac Racing Team home circuit. I will work hard to prove my value in the coming races.”

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