Smith back for Aprilia in Barcelona

Grip work is top priority for Bradley Smith during third Aprilia MotoGP race appearance, at Catalunya this weekend.
Smith back for Aprilia in Barcelona

Aprilia test rider Bradley Smith will make his third MotoGP wild-card appearance of the season, in Catalunya this weekend.

The Englishman - who previously raced the RS-GP at Qatar and Jerez, with a best result of 17th - will join Aleix Espargaro and Andrea Iannone for both the grand prix weekend and Monday test.

"As far as I am concerned, it will be important to begin working straight away on grip," Smith explained.

"Barcelona is perhaps the worst circuit from that point of view, and it is a great test bench for improving the performance of the RS-GP.

"It will be a long weekend, including the post-race tests, and I am happy to be back in the saddle with such a demanding schedule."

The MotoGP test overlaps with the Valencia MotoE test, which runs from Monday to Wednesday. Smith will race for the Sepang team in the new electric bike championship, which begins at Sachsenring in July.