Mika Kallio got his Brno weekend off to a flying start, topping the timesheet in this afternoon’s second free practice session. Scott Redding ended the day eighth, after making significant changes to the bike ahead of this afternoon’s second 45-minute practice.
Kallio was fast from the start today, ending this morning’s opening session sixth after making significant changes to the set-up of his Kalex Moto2 machine to better suit the characteristics of the Brno circuit. The 30-year-old Finn made further changes ahead of this afternoon’s second session, to improve stability under heavy braking, with positive results. Kallio set the fastest time of the session on his final flying lap to end the day second on combined times, just 0.1s behind provisional pole sitter, Pol Espargaro.
Redding struggled to find a good feeling with the bike during this morning’s 45-minute session, which he finished in 14th position and more than a second off the fastest time of Espargaro. The feeling was much better during this afternoon’s second free practice session, with the current Moto2 Championship leader shaving almost a second off his lap time to finish eighth overall.
Mika Kallio #36: 2nd – 2’03.230
“We made some big changes to the settings compared to Indianapolis, to make the bike more stable under hard braking and also through the fast and flowing turns here at Brno. We definitely went the right way, because the feeling was good from the start this morning. This afternoon we made some slight modifications to the rear of the bike, to reduce the pushing from the rear under braking, which gave me a much better feeling with the front; probably the best feeling I’ve had all season. Now we just need to be careful not to change too many things for tomorrow.”
Scott Redding #45: 8th – 2’03.601
“I struggled a bit this morning to be honest. We went a bit the wrong way with the set-up and I couldn’t find the good rhythm that’s so important here at Brno. We made some improvements this afternoon, which allowed me to close a little on the top of the timesheet, but there is definitely more to come. We didn’t want to try too many changes this afternoon, as I wanted to do some laps on the new rear Dunlop, which seemed to work pretty well. I improved my time this afternoon and I’m confident I can make another step tomorrow ahead of qualifying.”
Marc VDS Racing Team Press Release
