Mika Kallio (born November 8, 1982) is a Finnish Grand Prix motorcycle racer who competed in MotoGP full time in 2009 and 2010, and has served as a test and development rider since 2016 with 14 additional starts.
Pramac Racing Ducati
Kallio contested the 2009 and 2010 MotoGP season as a full time rider with the Pramac Racing team. Kallio also replaced an unwell Casey Stoner at the factory Ducati team for three rounds in 2009. He returned to the intermediate class in 2011, which had rebranded from the 250cc category to Moto2.
KTM
After spending five seasons in Moto2, Kallio made a return to MotoGP as the lead test rider of KTM’s MotoGP project in 2016. In addition to testing duties, the Finnish rider was also granted wildcard entries and replacement rides.
Between 2016 and 2020, Kallio made 14 race appearances for KTM and finishing in the top ten on two occasions.
S.U.F Helsinki
Kallio met Sarpeneva Watches and S.U.F Helsinki founder Stepan Sarpeneva in 2009. Having been spotted wearing an Jarno Saarinen-inspired S.U.F Paroni model, Kallio was gifted a piece unique custom S.U.F Flying Finn by Sarpeneva in the following year. The open work dial featured a red 36, the Finnish rider’s MotoGP number.
Related Pages
References
https://sufhelsinki.com/en-us/blogs/logbook/mika-kallio-the-flying-finn