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Kallio and Aoyama Luckless in Estoril |
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Technical problems stymie Red Bull team Sept 16, 2007 - Red Bull KTM factory riders Mika Kallio and Hiroshi Aoyama went to Portugal for the 250 cc Grand Prix on the Estoril circuit will high hopes but saw their podium hopes dashed after both experienced technical problems.
Kallio, who started on the front row of the grid held third position on the opening four laps of the race and looked set for a promising place. But he was sidelined when his carburettor overflowed going into the fifth lap. Team-mate Aoyama charged through a fiercely fighting second group of riders and from fourth position had World Champion Jorge Lorenzo in sight when he was forced to retire with four laps to go.
Kallio said he got away well and was feeling confident when he noticed the fuel level dropping and the bike becoming lighter. Then in the  fourth lap he opened the throttle and the engine stalled. "I first thought it was some electrical problem, but now we learned there was a problem with the carburettor," he said. Kallio said the problem had now been resolved and the team would be able to use a similar set-up for the next race in Motegi, Japan. "The track has quite slow corners there, not unlike here," he concluded. Aoyama said he had noticed that the engine performance on Sunday had not been as good as in Saturday's training. The situation got worse as the race progressed and just as he thought he has a chance of catching the lead group, the bike stopped and his race was over. "It was a disappointing day for us with Mika also stopping, but in one week we have another race, and I think we can make up for today's bad luck with a good result there. Motegi is a very important race for me, because there will be many friends and supporters. I am convinced we can fix this problem, and we can be strong!" the Japanese rider said confidently. Technical Director Harald Bartol said the problem for Kallio was the result of some dirt in the fuel tank and the team was analysing how debris had by-passed the fuel filter. He said the team would conduct a full investigation of Aoyama's engine to get to the root of the problem. Results| POS. | RIDER | MANF. | NAT. | | 1 | 19 Alvaro Bautista | Aprilia |  | | 2 | 34 Andrea Dovizioso | Honda |  | | 3 | 1 Jorge Lorenzo | Aprilia | | | 4 | 12 Thomas Luthi | Aprilia |  | | 5 | 80 Hector Barbera | Aprilia | | | DNF | 4 Hiroshi Aoyama | KTM |  | | DNF | 36 Mika Kallio | KTM |  |
Standings| POS. | RIDER | MANF. | NAT. | POINTS | | 1 | 1 Jorge Lorenzo | Aprilia | | 257 | | 2 | 34 Andrea Dovizioso | Honda | | 206 | | 3 | 3 Alex De Angelis | Aprilia |  | 197 | | 4 | 19 Alvaro Bautista | Aprilia | | 160 | | 5 | 80 Hector Barbera | Aprilia | | 130 | | 6 | 4 Hiroshi Aoyama | KTM | | 108 | | 8 | 36 Mika Kallio | KTM | | 94 |
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