FIM 125cc GP World Championship Jerez, Spain March 29, 2008 Final Qualifying Results: 1. Bradley SMITH (Aprilia), 1:47.587 2. Nicolas TEROL (Aprilia), 1:48.041 3. Stefan BRADL (Aprilia), 1:48.070 4. Gabor TALMACSI (Aprilia), 1:48.113 5. Simone CORSI (Aprilia), 1:48.128 6. Stevie BONSEY (Aprilia), 1:48.146 7. Mike DI MEGLIO (Derbi), 1:48.165 8. Scott REDDING (Aprilia), 1:48.315 9. Danny WEBB (Aprilia), 1:48.333 10. Raffaele DE ROSA (KTM), 1:48.345 More, from a press release issued by Red Bull KTM: Surgery for Randy Krummenacher after mountain bike spill Red Bull KTM 125 rider Randy Krummenacher underwent an emergency operation on Friday in the hospital at Jerez after he was diagnosed as having a ruptured spleen following a mountain bike accident last Monday. He will be sidelined for the Spanish Grand Prix and the Portuguese Grand Prix in two week’s time. Krummenacher too sick to ride in Friday’s practice The 18-year-old from Zurich had suffered from abdominal pain after crashing with his mountain bike on a snow-covered, slippery downhill run last Monday. He still managed to drive his motor home to Southern Spain to take part at the second race of the season. Krummenacher only went for a medical check-up in the Clinica Mobile at the Jerez racing circuit on Friday morning when he felt too sick and in too much pain to get on his bike for the first free 125 cc session at 9 a.m. Scan detects ruptured spleen and internal bleeding The medical team in the mobile clinic did not find anything wrong with Krummenacher but Dr. Claudio Costa did not rule out the possibility of an internal injury. He recommended a thorough scan with full hospital equipment. It was later established at the clinic in Jerez that the Swiss rider had suffered a ruptured spleen and severe internal bleeding. Krummenacher then underwent surgery in the early afternoon and doctors later confirmed he had come through the operation well. More, from a press release issued by KTM: Rafaelle de Rosa fastest KTM in qualifying for Jerez Team Onde 2000 KTM rider Raffaelle de Rosa was fastest KTM rider in the 125 cc category. The 20-year-old Italian was also close to a podium finish in Qatar before crashing out of the race. He has also now made some last-minute adjustments to his bike that have boosted his confidence for the race. Raffaele de Rosa (Onde 2000 KTM 125 – 10th in 1:48.345) “On paper, things looked a little bit better in Qatar, but I’m not worried. A lot of the guys out there took tremendous risks for one fast lap in qualifying, and there is no way that they can keep this sort of pace over the race distance. I’m able to maintain a fast and consistent rhythm. We lost a little bit of time going the wrong way with our chassis and suspension settings, but in the end, we managed to sort things out again. There is not much left to do for tomorrow, just a few small things, and then I will be ready to race!” Harald Bartol (Technical Director) “In the 125 class, we have more homework to do, as Aprilia is currently a small step ahead of us with their overall package. Raffaele de Rosa is fast and full of praise for our bike, but I know the areas, on the chassis as much as on the engine side, where we still need to improve.” Krummenacher making a good recovery More good news came from Red Bull KTM 125 rider Randy Krummenacher. The Swiss teenager, who had suffered a ruptured spleen injury in a bicycle crash and who underwent emergency surgery yesterday when the injury was finally detected, is recovering well from his operation. The 18-year-old was released from emergency care and moved to a normal hospital bed Saturday. He may be able to fly home to Zurich as soon as Monday. “Considering all the circumstances, I am very lucky that things turned out the way they did. A guardian angel was watching over me,” said Krummenacher, who is keen to get back on his bike as soon as possible. “The spleen is like a reserve tank of blood, and contributes to blood cell rejuvenation, but it is not a vital organ,” explained Dr. Claudio Costa who had urged for Krummenacher to be hospitalised on Friday morning. “There are numerous Grand Prix racers like Kenny Roberts senior, Carlos Checa and Roberto Locatelli, who continued very successful careers without their spleen. Randy Krummenacher will also be fully fit and fully competitive again!” Marc Marquez, the new young Spanish talent for the Repsol KTM 125 cc team was also unable to ride and si still recovering from broken wrist in a spill at Jerez during the February tests. Clear sunny weather with temperatures at around 22º Celsius are expected for Sunday’s race on the popular southern Spanish circuit. Results Qualifying Practice Two 1. Bradley Smith, Britain, Aprilia 2. NicolalTerol, Spain, Aprilia 3. Stefan Bradl. Germany, Aprilia 4. Gabor Talmacsi, Hungary, Aprilia 5. Corsi, Italy, Aprilia 10. Raffael De Rosa, Italy, Onde 2000 KTM 13. Pablo Nieto, Spain, Onde 2000 KTM 16. Esteve Rabat, Spain, Respol KTM 125cc 20. Tomoyoshi Koyama, Japan, ISPA KTM Aran 31. Lorenzo Zanetti, Italy, ISPA KRM Aran Did not start Randy Krummenacher, Switzerland, Red Bull KTM 125 Marc Marquez, Spain, Repsol KTM 125cc More, from another press release issued by KTM: Mika Kallio second and aiming high at Jerez Red Bull KTM 250 star Mika Kallio rode to second place on the starting grid for the Spanish Grand Prix and is aiming high for the race tomorrow. With a bike set-up close to perfection, Kallio had stormed to provisional pole position in the first qualifying session on Friday, but missed out on further improving his time today due to a small riding mistake. Kallio’s confidence however remains undiminished. The 25-year-old Finn, who finished third at the season-opening race in Qatar three weeks ago, is determined to give it all against the fierce competition, with Spanish hero Alvaro Bautista on pole, and fellow KTM riders Julian Simon in fifth and Hiroshi Aoyama in sixth place, and to fight for his first victory of the season. Mika Kallio (Red Bull KTM 250 – 2nd in 1:59.814) “I was first yesterday and could probably have defended my pole position today, but it didn’t quite work out. To do a really fast lap, you have to make the best out of the first two flying laps with a new rear tyre, but on the first lap, I ran into traffic, and on the second lap, I made a little mistake. I pushed as hard as I could for two more laps, but the tyre performance had already dropped, and there was nothing more I could do. But even though, I am happy and confident for the race. This circuit with lots of hard braking, slow corners and hard accelerating seems to suit our bike perfectly. My aim is to fight for victory!” Julian Simon (Repsol KTM 250 – 5th in 1:43.629) “We’ve been fast yesterday, and I really wanted to defend my front row starting position in final practice. But when I went out on my final run with a soft rear tyre, I had a big slide and almost crashed instead of improving my lap time. Never mind – second row on the grid is still good enough to attack!” Hiroshi Aoyama (Red Bull KTM 250 – 6th in 1:43.640) “Our bike felt good right from the start of practice, and we have been able to make further improvements in terms of handling and stability. There is just one section on the track where I have a problem with the front end, so we have to figure out what we can do to fix that for tomorrow. But the base set-up that we’ve established works well and I look forward to the race!” Harald Bartol (Technical Director) “With our 250, we look stronger and more competitive here than three weeks ago in Qatar and there is a simple explanation: Our bike is still very young in comparison to Aprilia and on new tracks and in new circumstances like the night race in Qatar, we don’t have enough data to fall back on. We would have simply needed more time to establish a good base set-up. Here in Jerez, we’ve got more experience, so we have been able to start from a high level straight away.” Results 2nd Qualifying 1. Alvaro Bautista, Spain, Aprilia 2. Mika Kallio, Finland, Red Bull KTM 250 3. Alex Debon, Spain, Aprilia 4. Thomas Luthi, Switzerland, Aprilia 5. Julian Simon, Spain, Repsol KTM 250 cc 6. Hiroshi Aoyama, Japan, Red Bull KTM 250