Mika Kallio will remain as one half of the KTM MotoGP test team through the 2019 season and partner the as-yet-unannounced Dani Pedrosa.
The Finn is recovering from knee surgery after a massive crash at the Sachsenring in July but is looking forward to returning to action. It is believed only Kallio will run as a wildcard for the Austrian manufacturer with Pedrosa sticking firmly to testing.
“I’m doing well with my recovery, and the programme is laid out so I will hopefully be 100% by the time we need to start work for 2019. I’m ahead of schedule but there are also days where I make progress and sometimes when it doesn't feel like much, so it is day-by-day," said Kallio.
"I’m wearing a splint to protect the knee from bad torsion and I’m working hard on mobility and building up the muscle around the joint again. I have been cycling and can walk without crutches although it is still too early for me to try the bike. It’s great to stay with KTM.
"We’ve made some good gains with the RC16 and I think you can see that through the race times in 2018. It will be exciting to see how much further we can keep moving closer to that lead group.”
