Former grand prix winner Mika Kallio will remain as a test rider for the factory KTM squad next season, the Austrian manufacturer has confirmed.
Kallio joined the KTM project in 2016, and has been an instrumental part in the development of the RC16, while also giving the bike its race debut at the Valencia race at the end of the '16 campaign.
The Finn has been unable to carry out his duties since July after suffering a severe knee injury in a crash during a wildcard appearance at the Sachsenring, and will likely be out of action for the remainder of the current season.
However, Kallio says his recovery is “ahead of schedule”, and travelled to KTM's base in Austria this week to pen a deal for 2019.
“I’m doing well with my recovery, and the programme is laid out so I will hopefully be 100 percent by the time we need to start work for 2019,” he said.
“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.
“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.”
Kallio's testing duties have been taken over by former MotoGP rider Randy de Puniet while he recovers.
The Finn is expected to be joined in the test team by Dani Pedrosa, who will retire from racing at the end of this season after an 18-year career.
It is unclear how many wildcards, if any, Kallio will make in 2019, as KTM is keen to scale back entering a third bike in races due to the test team's focus becoming too distracted by active competition.
Next year KTM will expand its presence on the grid to four bikes, with the Tech3 fielding factory-supported RC16s with Hafizh Syahrin and current Moto2 championship contender Miguel Oliveira spearheading the French outfit's effort.
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