Checa to take over Kallio’s seat for last two races of the season

It had been rumoured for some time that Mika Kallio was going to leave the Pramac Ducati Team before the end of the season, following his own wish to do so, and that Spanish rider Carlos Checa would be his replacement.

Checa already has 15 seasons in the MotoGP championship under his belt, including twelve full seasons with 500cc/MotoGP machines on which he achieved two wins and a total of 24 podium positions. Though having spent most of his MotoGP career on Honda and Yamaha bikes, Checa is no stranger to the Ducati GP bike, having ridden the machine from Bologna for one season in 2005.

For the last three seasons Checa has ridden in the World Superbike championship with some reasonable success. Having taken the third place overall with Ducati in the 2010 season, racking up three wins and eight podiums total, the ride in the MotoGP championship for the last two races is considered a ThankYou gift from Ducati for a WSBK season well done.

While it’s already been announced by the Pramac Ducati Team that the Australian GP was Kallio’s last race this year, as of now there’s no official confirmation that Checa will ride his bike at Estoril and Valencia. However, Carlos Checa himself has already posted some information about it, announcing that he will ride with the number 71 and he uploaded a video of him testing the bike at Mugello.

Source: Pramac Racing Team, Twitter Carlos Checa