Spaniard Carlos Checa will replace the injured Mika Kallio for the final two MotoGP races of the season, the Pramac Racing Team has officially confirmed ahead of this weekend’s penultimate round of the season in Portugal.
Although Checa let the news out of the bag last week on Twitter, the agreement wasn’t announced by the team until late on Monday.
"After the decision taken by Mika Kallio to not take part in the last two races [due to his shoulder problem], we decided to call a rider with experience and talent that could give us a good end of season,” Team Principal Paolo Campinoti explained.
“Thanks also to consulting with Ducati, we decided to call, after a three year absence from MotoGP races, the Spaniard Carlos Checa that was riding this year a Ducati in the World Superbike 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 colours of the Pramac Racing Team.”
Checa, who finished third in the World Superbike Championship this season, is looking forward to returning to MotoGP: "I really want to thank the Pramac Racing Team for believing in me and for this wonderful gift!” he continued. “After three years it 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 have 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."
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