Kalle Katajisto

[admin]

Can't say I understand the rationale behind having young Kalle Katajisto at No 5 in the Edinburgh line-up. Surely it would make more sense to pair him with Kai Laukkanen have Tully at No 2 with Stancl and Sneddon at No 5?

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What a lot of mince that was . Mildenhall were poor , Fry would have been better in the bar with me and Simon Barton . The young Finnish laddie is very raw - flipped over in his first ride , but you never know with time . Easy for the Monarchs tonight though .

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I think you were being kind by describing Mildenhall as "poor".

Only Legault put up any real fight, and the Monarchs new boys got a fairly gentle introduction to racing at Armadale.

Kalle was, as Paulco stated, fairly raw, but encouragingly he did improve quite significantly as the night went on.
He chased William Lawson quite impressively for a few laps in the second half before making a bit of a mess of one corner.

From one so young and inexperienced, there were certainly positive signs. I just hope the crowd don't expect too much from him and give him plenty time to settle in.

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I don't think we are expecting anything from Kalle but I think although he is obviously very raw there is definitely talent there waiting to be nurtured.

[admin]

midnightlady said:

I don't think we are expecting anything from Kalle but I think although he is obviously very raw there is definitely talent there waiting to be nurtured.

But do you think it wise to have him at No 5? That's a very tricky position in the team. I guess in the next couple of weeks Wethers will be moving back into the team, with either Sneddon or Tully going to reserve. I'd say it would be sensible to have Wethers at No 5, Katajisto at No 4 with Laukkanen and either Tully or Sneddon at No 2.

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Maybe, maybe not. I am sure they had their reasons for doing so and who knows what the line-up will be for the coming matches.

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At present Matthew Wethers is the third heat leader in the side but since he is at reserve he can't yet take the number 5 spot in the team. However things can be manipulated so that he appears with Kalle Katajisto in the three rides when the number 5 partners one of the reserves.

That's the current plan, I think, but things will change when Matthew moves up into the team and I wouldn't be surprised if Kalle is moved to number 4 with Andrew Tully moving to reserve at which point Daniele Tessari may be back in the side. In these circumstances it will less probematical to carry a non-scorer.

I have to say that I was quite impressed with young Kalle Katajisto. He was riding a brand new bike he'd never ridden before. In his first race his rear tyre was far too hard and his setup all wrong which caused him to lift alarmingly at the start. When he got back to the pits Kai Laukannen soon had the bike in bits altering everything for him but, due to the time it took, Kalle wasn't ready to take his second ride which resulted in him being replaced by Matthew Wethers.

By the time he took his third ride he looked far better than in his first and second and, at one point, he looked as though he might just catch Paul Fry (although that wouldn't have been that much of a feat because Fry was simply awful!). Kalle came out in the second half for a couple of races and, in the second of them, he was right on William Lawson's tail for a couple of laps.

The young Finn is only 16 and this was only his 7th time on a 500cc machine! It didn't take him long to look comfortable on the track and once he sorts out his terrible gating and gets his set-up right he could be a real sensation! I hope so anyway.

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I would agree with all you say there Merlin, the improvement in the lad from his 1st race to his last 2nd half race was incredible, as you say he was close to Willie for a couple of laps. it will be interesting so see how far he can progress by the end of the season (which will probably be mid november with this bloody weather!)

[admin]

Sorry, although I knew Wethers was scoring well from reserve, I didn't realise he was going to be third heat leader when the next averages come out. Of course, under such circumstances, it makes sense to have Katajista at No 5.

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Well done to young Kalle on his first race win in British speedway. I'm sure in the future there will be many more, but for now I'm sure he was just thrilled to get one under his belt.

Seems like he made a good impression at both Kings Lynn and Sheffield. Everyone seems to like the look of the guy and he's certainly got talent there, just a question of him getting the experience at the moment. No doubt he's getting that in bundles as the Monarchs are in the middle of a very busy spell.

Rico

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What a place to have your first win and in such style

Well done young man.

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Don't get too carried away - it was only the legend killer he beat . ;D

[admin]

Can they get carried away if he beats the Messiah?

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admin said:

Can they get carried away if he beats the Messiah?

If Kalle does that next Friday I will need carried away! Very pleased to hear of his first win in British Speedway last night, his progress in a few short weeks has been astonishing, but I think it will be next season before he beats Mr Parker!

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If Kalamity Kalle beats the Messiah next friday i will roll up at Ashfield on the Sunday with a blue and gold scarf on . Neither events will happen though .