History made at the KymiRing MotoGP™ Test

History was made at the KymiRing today as MotoGP™ bikes lapped the Finnish circuit for the first time. Fans flocked to the circuit to witness premier class motorcycle action in Finland for the first time since 1982.

Fittingly, the first rider out on track and the man to make history as the first MotoGP™ rider to lap the KymiRing was local hero Mika Kallio, aboard his KTM RC16 that was fitted with the very latest KTM chassis. All six test riders eventually got a taste of the circuit, despite conditions being far from ideal with rain falling throughout the day.

Aprilia’s Bradley Smith was the next out on track and the British rider was fastest at lunchtime with the first sub-two-minute lap. Ducati’s Michele Pirro and Honda’s Stefan Bradl were next on track. Bradl was continuing development work on the carbon-reinforced chassis but also made some unwanted history by becoming the first rider to crash at the KymiRIng – at the final corner with the rider OK. The German was also spotted as having a ‘salad box’ fitted to both bikes in his garage, which was last seen at the Sepang Official Test at the start of 2019.

Suzuki’s Sylvain Guintoli and Yamaha’s Jonas Folger were the last to try out the KymiRing later in the day. Red Bull KTM Ajo’s Brad Binder fresh from winning the Austrian Moto2™ Grand Prix, but the South African was purely spectating ahead of riding a MotoGP™ bike at the KymiRing in 2020.

Michelin were hard at work as well, with technicians in constant communication with engineers and riders from all six factories as the French tyre manufacturer try to gauge the abrasiveness of the surface.

MotoGP™ bikes will be back on track at the KymiRing from 11:00 (GMT 3) until 18:00 (GMT 3) tomorrow with motogp.com again bringing all the latest news and views from the Finnish circuit.