MotoGP: Pramac Racing Team Undaunted by Crashes

Tyler Hopper
AllAboutBikes Staff-Writer

When you fall off the horse, you have to get back up and try again.  At least that’s what Mika Kallio and Niccolò Canepa did after each of them crashed at the night time tests in Losail.  The Pramac Racing riders were virtually unaffected by the crashes they suffered.  The test was Kallio’s first time riding an 800cc bike under the lights at Losail International Circuit, and Canepa’s first ride ever at the track in Qatar.

Mika Kallio suffered an extensive crash Monday night during testing.  The 26-year-old continued with business as usual Tuesday, finishing twelfth on the time sheet.  This end result could be the byproduct of the previous crash. Kallio said, “I couldn’t find the confidence to push that bit more,” in speaking about his performance Tuesday.     

Niccolò Canepa succeeded in record lap times just under his team-mate; however, he suffered a crash in the final session.  Canepa walked away from the crash with life, limbs and dignity intact.  The team-mates remain in high spirits, using the events at Qatar as a learning experience.  Canepa demonstrated that, as the season progresses, he and his team-mate will remain confident and in high spirits.   Canepa got back on that metaphorical horse and said, “We will now go back home confident and with high morale, much happier than at the end of the Sepang test.”