Kallio to ride with shoulder pain in Mugello
Added on Thursday, June 3rd, 2010 by Carole Nash Editor
Kallio to ride with shoulder pain in Mugello
Mika Kallio will line up on the grid for his 20th MotoGP Grand Prix this weekend but will do so with pain killer for a shoulder injury.
The Finn, who was hampered by the injury during the last Grand Prix in Le Mans, has undergone intense physiotherapy to address the problem but will still ride with some pain in Italy this weekend as he looks to improve his unimpressive early season form.
“I will ride in my 20th MotoGP Grand Prix, but it’s a shame I’ll be reaching this goal with my shoulder in this condition,” said Kallio.
“I have had medical treatment to lessen the pain, but I cannot lift or bend my arm very well. I hope that on Sunday I’ll feel less pain so I can ride in the best possible manner. This is considered by my team as their home circuit and I will give my best to get a good result.”
Meanwhile, his Pramac teammate Aleix Espargaró is in a more positive mood following his top ten finish in Le Mans two weeks ago.
The Spaniard finished ninth in France and is looking to continue that form this weekend.
“I can’t wait to try my bike on this track,” he said. “The Le Mans race increased my confidence in my ability. I struggled a bit but I did better than some world champion riders. The team has always been very attentive to my instructions and has immediately found solutions to my problems and offered me a perfect bike, which is easy to ride. At Mugello I have run in the past only four times with ninth place my best result in 2008 while I was riding a 250 bike. I hope I am instantly confident on the track so I can try to progressively improve my lap times.”
