It’s official: Carlos Checa confirmed as Kallio’s replacement
Even though it’s already been an open secret that Spaniard Carlos Checa would take over Mika Kallio’s seat at Pramac Ducati for the last two races of the season, it’s only now been made official.
The following is the press release from the team.
After the news that Mika Kallio was unable to race for the last two Grand Prix of the 2010 Championship because of his shoulder problem after the fall he had during the first free practice of the French Grand Prix, the Pramac Racing Team had to quickly look for a rider with experience that could be ready to get on Ducati MotoGP for the Grand Prix of Portugal. The choice was on the expert rider, the Spaniard Carlos Checa, who finished third after a good Superbike World Championship riding a Ducati. He has accepted the challenge of the Italian team and has therefore signed an agreement to run the last two Grand Prix of the season. Carlos has a great experience in the premier class of the MotoGP where he has raced for fifteen years from 1993 to 2007. With two victories between 1996 and 1998, Carlos received a series of podium and good results that have brought him near the top position in the overall rankings in the late nineties and early years of this decade. His best seasons were in 1998 with the 500cc class when he finished fourth in the World Championship, and in 2002 with the new MotoGP when he finished in fifth place. The results on the track and the huge experience accumulated during the years of premier class, have allowed him the call of the Pramac Racing Team, that will line up in this way a couple of Spanish riders who are the youngest with Aleix Espargaró, born in the 1989, and the oldest Carlos Checa, born in the 1972. Carlos will run the last two races with the 71 on the livery, also because his preferred number, the 7 is already taken by another rider.
Paolo Campinoti – Team Principal Pramac Racing Team
“After the decision taken by Mika Kallio to not take part to the last two races, we decided to call a rider with experience and talent that could give us a good end of season. Thanks also to consult with Ducati, we decided to call after three year of absence from MotoGP races, the Spaniard Carlos Checa that was riding this year a Ducati in the Superbike World Championship. Of course it will be important for him to run as much as possible on Estoril´s track during the free practice session so that he can be able to improve as much as possible his feeling with the bike. We know about his undisputed talent and potential, this is also the reason why I cannot hide that we expect from him a good result in both races that he will race with the colors of the Pramac Racing Team.”
Carlos Checa – Pramac Racing Team
“I really want to thank the Pramac Racing Team for believing in me and for this wonderful gift! After three years is a great pleasure for me to return in the MotoGP world, here I have some wonderful memories. So many things have changed over three years ago, both in the mechanical of the bikes and in the MotoGP world, but many others had remained unchanged. I know I should not expect too much because the Ducati Desmosedici GP10 is very different from the bike which I had run this year, but I know many of my next opponents and I will do my best to fight shoulder to shoulder with them to try to finish these two races with positive results.”
Source: Pramac Racing
