Mika Kallio explains decision to reject Aspar and Forward MotoGP deals

Mika Kallio wasn’t so desperate to return to MotoGP in 2015 that he would ride for a pittance after confirming he did turn down offers from Aspar Honda and Forward Racing.



Kallio has made no secret of his desire to return MotoGP for the first time since 2010 and was made formal offers to join Nicky Hayden on a production Honda RC213V-RS or take the Forward Yamaha option with Stefan Bradl.



But the Finn rejected both for the derisory salary on offer and claimed he secured a more lucrative pay deal by agreeing to join the Italtrans Moto2 squad in 2015 after being replaced at Marc VDS Racing by Alex Marquez.



Kallio told MCN: “They didn’t want to pay a decent salary and that’s why I said no. There was a salary but it was quite a lot smaller than what I have in Moto2. The situation has changed quite a lot and mainly the satellite teams and private teams, most of them expect riders that like to come and ride their bike, they want them for free or they have to bring a sponsor. The offers they made from the technical side and the team side was attractive. Both will be good next year but if they think that the riders need to ride for free then this is not how I go about it. The offers I had in Moto2 were better on that side. I always said the main target for me was to come back to MotoGP but I always said that if I don’t find something that is good for me then it is not bad to stay in Moto2 with a good team and good bike and stay at the front.”





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