Motorcycles and news

Moto GP 250: Aoyama takes 250 race to round off perfect day for KTM September 25, 2006

Sunday was a historic day for KTM when the company scored victories in both the 125 cc and 250 cc classes, the first time the company had registered a double victory on one race day during the Motorcycle Road Racing World Championships. Just one hour after Mika Kallio (Finland) was victorious in the 125cc, with his teammate Julian Simon (Spain) joining him on the podium for third place, KTM “Hero” Hiroshi Aoyama rode to victory in the 250 cc class before his home crowd on the Motegi circuit in Japan.

Aoyama got away well at the start and, riding in the front pack, gradually picked off his competitors one-by-one until he hit the front. Twice he slid dangerously trying to fend off challenging riders but was luckily able to quickly gain control of the bike. His plan was to gradually put increasing distance between himself and the other riders and although he didn’t manage to succeed in this he was still able to hold off the challenges and rode through the checkered flag after 23 laps for a glorious and very happy victory.

The second rider in the Red Bull KTM GP 250 team, Manuel Poggiali started the race from 16th grid position. He made up some places at the start but could not stick with the front riders. He finished 12th.

Moto GP 250: Aoyama takes 250 race to round off perfect day for KTM Hiroshi Aoyama #4 Red Bull KTM GP 250 Winner
“I feel very special today. After my victory here last year of course I wanted to do the same again this year. But it was not the same. I’m riding a European bike now and everything is different, also the environment. But I’m so happy I hardly can speak. First of all I would like to thank KTM, Red Bull, my Team and all our sponsors. My start was not so good and when I found my rhythm I tried to push as hard as possible. When I hit the front I tried to put some distance between me and the others and two or three times I almost crashed. I even broke my windscreen when I tried to avoid a high-sider so I had to be a bit more careful because I really wanted to finish the race on the top of the podium. Finally I made it and I’m very happy with my KTM. The bike really was so fast on the straight and the new chassis we had here was working very successfully.”