Kallio confirms KTM WILL race in MotoGP at Valencia this year

At the private MotoGP test in Austria yesterday the KTM RC16 ran alongside its future world championship competition for the first time. Mika Kallio and Thomas Luthi took to the track and posted competitive laps times, so far – so expected. But then Kallio let slip when the bike will make its race debut.

“I think everyone can be really satisfied that we’re here with the others. In the end I think the lap times were on a good level, quite good,” said Kallio who has been leading development on the RC16. “We tried to follow the others and see how the bike is behaving and where we are losing compared to them.”

“Around two seconds behind the fastest guys, at the moment it’s quite good. We still have time to work before we come to the Valencia race,” Kallio confirming the rumours about KTM’s race debut at the Spanish track on November 13.

KTM are not the first to wildcard before their full-time return, Suzuki also used the Valencia GP in 2014 as chance to compare themselves to the established order.