Brno MotoGP Mika Kallio ready for ‘great chance’

Finn Mika Kallio admitted his promotion to Ducati’s factory team as replacement for Casey Stoner presented him with a great chance to show his MotoGP credentials.
Kallio will deputise for Stoner on the factory GP9 for at least the next three races in Brno, Indianapolis and Misano having impressed in his premier class rookie campaign for the Pramac Ducati squad.
Kallio only found out he would partner Nicky Hayden on Monday when it became apparent that Stoner was not fit enough to return to action having suffered health issues for the last two months.
Kallio said: “This is a really good chance for me and I really appreciate that Ducati gave me this chance to replace Stoner. I’ve also got to thank my own team Pramac for letting me do these three races. But it is a really, really great chance for me and hopefully I can get some results. I only got a phone call on Monday morning from Ducati and they were saying that Casey was not going to be coming to Brno and they were thinking I could take his seat. For me it was okay and after that everything has gone really fast. Now I just need to concentrate and see what happens.”
Kallio said he felt sorry that his golden chance in the factory squad had only come about because of Stoner’s on-going physical problems that first flared up in Catalunya.
He added: “I didn’t feel so happy because Casey’s condition is not so good and I hope he will be better after these three races. All I can do is make the best results I can. I think my level now can be as high fifth or sixth position, so maybe in the factory team I can do something better.”