Kallio commences his work at the KTM MotoGP-project

Former Moto2-rider Mika Kallio has been keeping himself busy after the race season. Kallio has his aim set on joining the MotoGP-class for season 2017 and he has now started his test rider job at KTM by taking the new bike out for a first spin in sunny Valencia last week. 

-We had not planned to test the new MotoGP-bike until February, but as things were progressing so nicely at the factory, we decided to arrange one preliminary test still this year. Even though we had only one day to work on track, it was time well spent and we discovered valuable things before the winter break. Now we have a chance to develop the bike further before our next test and really engage all the information we have gathered. We have a few month’s pause from riding now, but the project continues in the workshop at full force, Kallio smiled. 

Kallio has previously ridden a Pramac MotoGP-bike for two seasons 2009-2010, but he confirms that lot’s of things have changed since and he has a lot to learn to be able to coax the most out of the new KTM-bike. 

His first feelings were positive and the rider feels that the team has done a great job already with the first version of the bike. 

-It was actually surprising how good the riding felt at this point of development. The bike was well balanced and I could not find any weak points on the performance. The team has demonstrated huge effort and the quality is there already. Naturally there is a long way to go to make the bike competitive with the other factory teams’ bikes, but I believe it can be achieved and am really proud of the project so far, Kallio stated. 

-I haven’t ridden such a powerful bike for a long time and it was amazing to hop on and start working with this beast. There is a lot more power at hand compared to Moto2-bikes and therefore I need to adjust my riding style to get the most out of the bike. This means more or less focusing on the exits of corners and harnessing the power properly to the rear wheel during accelerations. 

MotoGP-bikes differ quite a lot from Moto2-bikes, which Kallio has worked with for the five previous seasons. This does not cause problems for him, as the routine is there and he has kept his feel to bigger bikes by riding tyre tests for Michelin.  

-Riding voluntary tyre tests gives out the benefit now, as I have worked for Michelin and they happen to provide the tyres for MotoGP this year. This means that the products are already familiar to me and I know how they respond to different styles of riding. What really is new to me, is the carbon brake system. I have to learn more about how they respond to my riding to optimise my performance on track. Especially the front feel is different, but I am sure I will get used to them soon. The power of the bike is nearly double compared to Moto2-bikes, but this makes me nothing but happy, Kallio beamed. 

The choice to begin work as a test rider and skip the race season of 2016 has required lots of explaining to sponsors and other partners, but Kallio has a plan and he believes firms in it. 

-Day per day, I am more confident that this was the best option to take and the right move for my career and personal development. I had to think about this decision carefully, since of course I want to race. The thing is, I was not happy in Moto2 and the bigger class is where my goals are. This was in my opinion the best way to approach a factory MotoGP-bike and I hope to make a brilliant job during my test season and see where it gets me in 2017, Kallio explained. 

-The team and staff members at KTM are already familiar to me and amazing people to work with. I am happy with my choice. I have the main responsibility for testing the bike, but Alex Hofmann and other riders are closely involved in the project as well. Let’s see what we can achieve  together next year, Kallio grinned. 

The test season continues in February and Kallio has now time to participate in other events. Before Christmas, he is heading to Austria and Spain for racing activities outside of the world of road racing. Kallio will be next seen in the FormulaSnow 2015 snowcross event in Saalbach on December 5th and afterwards in the dirt track race “Superprestigio” in Barcelona on the following weekend. 

-I have different racing coming up for the next two weekends and I plan to have some fun while I’m at it. In Barcelona a lot of other MotoGP-riders are on the same line and even though I have not practiced dirt track apart from the one race last year, I plan to enjoy myself and fight the guys with full speed, a happy Kallio finished.  

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