49 Facts About Mika Kallio

Mika Kallio was born on 8 November 1982 and is a Finnish Grand Prix motorcycle racer, currently serving as the lead test and development rider for the Red Bull KTM team in MotoGP.

Mika Kallio debuted in the 125cc World Championship with the Finnish rookie team Ajo Motorsport in the 2001 German Grand Prix and was awarded the "Rookie of the Year" with the team in 2002.

At 500cc level, Mika Kallio won the title in 2004 and 2006.

Mika Kallio made his debut in the 125cc World Championship as a wildcard rider at the 2001 German Grand Prix, but did not finish the race.

Mika Kallio ended the season with 78 points, 11th in the rider's championship, and won Rookie of the Year, in front of fellow rookies Hector Barbera, Andrea Dovizioso and Jorge Lorenzo.

Mika Kallio started the 2003 season with Ajo Motorsport, partnering Masao Azuma, but halfway through the season, following him outperforming factory KTM rider Arnaud Vincent, the riders were switched, Kallio being promoted to Red Bull KTM, KTM's factory team.

Mika Kallio immediately took his career's best fourth place in Czech Republic, and scored his first ever podium in the 125cc class, a 2nd place at Sepang behind Dani Pedrosa.

Mika Kallio finished the year 11th in the standings, with 88 points.

Mika Kallio ended the season 10th in the championship, with 86 points.

Mika Kallio started the year well, with a 2nd place in Jerez, before taking his first championship pole position and victory, at the second round of the 2005 season in Estoril.

Mika Kallio went on to take another pole in Shanghai but ended the race only in 11th, followed by a 3rd place in Le Mans, another pole with a retirement in Mugello, a pole position and a 3rd place in Barcelona, a fifth consecutive pole position in Assen, followed by a retirement in the race, and a sixth pole in Donnington, where he ended the race in 7th.

Mika Kallio started from pole, and led the entire race, closely followed by teammate Gabor Talmacsi.

Mika Kallio won the final race in Valencia, Luthi coming home in 9th, meaning Mika Kallio lost the world title by just five points, the exact difference between first place and second place championship points.

In 2006, Mika Kallio was again a challenger for the 125cc title, and although he produced his career's best season, the young Finn was outshone by Alvaro Bautista, who won the title by 76 points.

Mika Kallio was forced to settle for the runner-up spot in the championship again, although he did finish a full 65 points ahead of Hector Faubel in third position.

Mika Kallio scored three victories, in Shanghai, Assen and Motegi, had four pole positions, and finished on the podium 11 times during the 2006 campaign.

Mika Kallio ended his rookie season with two wins, two pole positions, four podiums and two fastest laps, placing him 7th in the rider standings with 157 points, second among rookies.

Mika Kallio had built up a strong lead in the championship, but his luck would begin to change for the worse with a 5th place in Le Mans, a 4th place in Mugello, and the race in Barcelona, where his bike broke down, causing Mika Kallio to nearly crash on his way back to the pits, resulting in his lead in the championship disappearing.

Mika Kallio's woes seemed to continue at Donington Park after qualifying only 14th, but he cut through the field fairly quickly, often overtaking multiple riders in a lap, and took a surprise victory.

The KTM riders struggled to keep up with the pace of Piaggio riders, Mika Kallio finishing 7th in Assen, 4th at the Sachsenring, 5th in Brno, and retiring in Misano.

Mika Kallio wrapped up the year to finish 3rd in the overall standings with 196 points, three victories, three 3rd places, and two fastest laps, not scoring a single pole position.

On 19 October 2008, Mika Kallio was announced as part of the new Pramac Racing lineup for the 2009 MotoGP season, riding alongside Italian Niccolo Canepa.

Mika Kallio was provided with the latest spec Ducati Desmosedici GP9 ensuring equality for the satellite teams and the factory squad.

Mika Kallio then retired from the races in Jerez and Le Mans, before a 13th place in Mugello, and a 9th place in Barcelona.

Mika Kallio missed the race at Laguna Seca Raceway, being replaced by Aleix Espargaro, but was back in action at the Sachsenring in Germany, racing with a special custom-made glove to accommodate the bandage.

Mika Kallio finished 14th in Germany, and 10th in England, when prior to the Czech race, Casey Stoner announced that he would miss the next three races due to health problems.

Mika Kallio was called in to replace Stoner at the Ducati factory team, retiring in Brno, finishing 8th in Indinapolis, and 7th in Rimini.

Once his stint in place of Stoner was over, Mika Kallio returned to Pramac for the final four races of the season, retiring in Portugal, finishing 9th in Australia, 10th in Malaysia, and 9th in Valencia.

On 30 September 2009, Mika Kallio announced that he had signed a new one-year contract with Pramac Ducati that would see him ride for the team in the 2010 season.

On 17 October 2010, Mika Kallio announced that he would not be competing in the final two rounds of the 2010 season, due to a shoulder injury that he had been riding with, since Le Mans in May Mika Kallio and Pramac parted ways, as he had not been offered a contract for 2011 by the team, finishing the season with 43 points, 17th in the rider's championship.

On 7 November 2010, it had been announced that Mika Kallio would move down a category to Moto2, teaming up with the Suter-run Marc VDS Racing Team alongside British rider Scott Redding for 2011.

In typically tropical wet conditions, Mika Kallio had to take avoiding action from a separate crash on the opening lap, skating across the gravel and dropping all the way down the order to 29th place.

Such was the level of his consistency throughout 2012, Mika Kallio only failed to score points at just two events.

Mika Kallio remained at Marc VDS for a third season in 2013.

Mika Kallio came out on top of in a race which saw a race-long battle involving Japanese rider Takaaki Nakagami, and former 125cc title rival Thomas Luthi: it was Mika Kallio's first victory in five years.

At the 2013 season's end, Mika Kallio was fourth in the rider's championship, with 188 points, one victory, four podiums, one pole position, and a fastest lap.

Mika Kallio was joined by Spanish rider Esteve Rabat for a fourth season at Marc VDS.

The next two races yielded further points, before Mika Kallio embarking on a six race podium streak, starting at Assen where he recovered to finish in third despite an early off track moment in the wet conditions.

In Germany, Mika Kallio was narrowly pipped to victory by Dominique Aegerter on the final lap, after a race long battle with the Swiss.

Mika Kallio's victory was his 16th of his career, surpassing the late Jarno Saarinen's win tally of 15, to become Finland's most successful race winner in MotoGP history.

On 1 September 2014, Marc VDS announced Alex Marquez would join the team in 2015 alongside Rabat, leaving Mika Kallio to seek employment elsewhere for next season.

The incident eliminated both riders, ending Mika Kallio's run of 31 consecutive points finishes, a career best.

Nonetheless, Mika Kallio clinched second place overall in the rider's standings, concluding the year with three wins, and a personal best of 288 points scored.

Days later, the QMMF Racing Team announced that Mika Kallio would be joining the team for the rest of the season, on board a Speed Up, replacing Anthony West.

Mika Kallio finished inside the points for all five races with the team, to wrap-up 2015 on a slightly better note, to an otherwise very unsatisfactory season, down in 15th position in the rider's championship, with just 72 points.

Mika Kallio suffered a serious knee injury when racing as a scheduled wildcard entry at the Sachsenring, German round in July 2018, disrupting the KTM test programme.

Mika Kallio finished the year with seven points in six races.

In November 2020, Mika Kallio was announced to replace Iker Lecuona at the two rounds in Valencia, and the Portuguese GP, after Lecuona tested for positive COVID-19.

Mika Kallio has an older brother named Vesa, who is a motorcycle racer.