Mika Kallio

Read about Mika Kallio, including career highlights, pictures and news of the road racer right here at Motorcycle USA.

Mika Kallio started his racing career in his native country of Finland where, along with three road-racing titles, he also secured an ice racing championship. Kallio’s Grand Prix career began in the 125 class as a wildcard entry in 2001, with his first full season taking place in 2002. Campaigning with KTM, Kallio scored second overall in the 2005 and 2006 125 championships. In 2007 the Finn then moved up to the 250 class with KTM and finished seventh. The next year Kallio took home third overall in the series behind Marco Simoncelli and Alvaro Bautista.

Kallio moved to the premier MotoGP series in 2009, campaigning with Pramac Racing Ducati. He impressed with numerous top-10 results aboard the satellite Desmosedici and claimed the 2009 Rookie of the Year award. Kallio’s results were favorable enough that he received a call to fill the empty factory seat of Casey Stoner for four races, as the Aussie sat out due to illness.

In 2010 Kallio's performance dropped off from the previous year. The Finn earned his highest finish of the year in seventh at Jerez, and finished a disappointing 17th overall for the season.

In 2011 Kallio will battle in Moto2 after striking a deal with the Marc VDS Racing Team.