Mika Kallio rose through the ranks for a spectacular win in the 250cc motorcycling Grand Prix on Sunday. Meanwhile, Formula 1 Driver Kimi Räikkönen's hopes for his second Grand Prix win in France were dashed by problems with his car's exhaust. Kallio started his race back in 14th position, as his KTM team struggled all weekend to get the tyres adjusted properly. "It was an unbelievable win, when we had a hell of a lot of problems. The adjustments were totally off on Friday and the situation still looked tough on Sunday morning," Kallio said after the race. The last few laps were nail-biters as Kallio struggled to keep up with Alvaro Bautista and Marco Simoncelli. They braked too late on the last turn, giving Kallio the opportunity to slip past and cross the finish line first, less than four-tenths of a second ahead of second-place Simoncelli. Kallio's hard-fought win increases his lead in the world championship standings to eight points. Technical Trouble Foils Räikkönen's Win
Räikkönen started in pole, lead the race and seemed poised to take the trophy when exhaust problems developed around halfway through the race.
His Ferrari teammate Felipe Massa passed Räikkönen for the win, which also catapulted him into first place in the world championship standings.
Another Finnish driver, Heikki Kovalainen, fought hard with Toyota's Jarno Trulli for third place, with the two of them even bumping up against each other in the last dash for the chequered flag, but Kovalainen was unable to pass the Italian and had to settle for fourth.