Misano, Italy – 16 September 2012: Mika Kallio took a hard fought fourth place finish this afternoon at Misano, in a Moto 2 race run over just 14 laps following a restart because of oil on the track. Scott Redding was battling with his teammate early on in the race, but dropped back in the final few laps of the race and eventually finished seventh.

Both Kallio and Redding got away with the leading group of riders from the original start, but the race was red-flagged after just three laps when Gino Rea’s engine blew and deposited oil on the track. While Kallio restarted the race from his original grid position, ninth, Redding was demoted from the front to the second row and started from fifth.

Kallio got away cleanly once again at the restart, making up a handful of places in the run down to the first turn. The 29-year-old Finn then safely negotiated the tricky first three corners and was immediately involved in the battle for the race lead. Kallio continued to pick off places and was closing on the leading trio when he was held up by Tito Rabat, who was struggling for rear grip.

By the time Kallio had found a way past the Spaniard, Iannone, Espargaro and Marquez had already built up an insurmountable gap at the front of the race. The Marc VDS rider came under pressure from Tom Lüthi and Dominique Aegerter at mid-race distance, but held off both to claim fourth position at the chequered flag.

Redding also got away well from the restart, battling in the same group as his teammate. At the midpoint it looked like both Marc VDS riders would finish inside the top five, but as the race entered the closing stages the 19-year-old Briton lost a couple of places on the straight, which he was unable to reclaim through the corners.

It was a disappointment for Redding, who has been strong at Misano in all conditions this weekend and was confident of being able to fight for a podium finish today.

The Marc VDS Racing Team will return to action in two weeks time, in round 13 of the FIM Moto2 World Championship in Aragon, Spain.

Mika Kallio #36: 4th Position
“The start is all-important here at Misano, and I got away from the line cleanly from the restart, making up a lot of places into the first turn. Then I managed to find a clean line through turns two and three, which isn’t always easy, which put me onto the back of the leading group. I was pretty comfortable running the same pace as the front three, but then Tito Rabat started struggling for rear grip in front of me and trying to find a way past him held me up for a few laps. By the time I was through and into fourth, the leaders had gone. I tried to push to close the gap, but I felt like I was on the limit. I’m happy with fourth, but also disappointed to miss out on the podium. If we can find that little bit of pace we’re still missing, then I think we can be challenging for the podium at every race.”

Scott Redding #45: 7th Position
“I should have been on the podium here today, no question. I’ve been fast all weekend but, today, when it counted, the pace just wasn’t there. The short race should have suited me, and I was quick to find a good rhythm, but every time I passed someone they’d just drive past me on the straight and I couldn’t retake them in the next turn, because they had the speed that I was missing. It’s getting more and more frustrating now. For me it’s stopped being about who’s the best rider in Moto2, because physical size seems to be more important than skill. We need to find something to offset the disadvantage, and we need to find it fast.”

Michael Bartholemy: Team Principal
“Mika rode a great race, holding off some serious challenges from the likes of Lüthi, Rabat and Aegerter to finish fourth today. It was just unfortunate he got held up in the early stages otherwise I’m confident he’d have been on the podium today. Scott has been strong here all weekend but, once again, he was losing out on the straight in the race. We have tried everything we possibly can to reduce this, but we’ve only been partially successful. He’s bigger than everyone else, and we’re trying to compensate for that, but we’re starting to run out of options. But, we need to do something ahead of the next race at Aragon, where the long straight is certain to cause similar issues in the race. It’s not easy but then if it was, everyone would be doing it.”