Kyle Smith will return to the WorldSSP Championship in 2022 after penning a deal with the Italian VFT Racing team to ride its Yamaha R6.
The 30-year old has been the UK’s leading representative in the intermediate class in recent years, scoring a trio of wins in 2015 and 2016, the latter of which was the last WorldSSP victory on Honda machinery.
Also a double podium winner in two of the four races he competed in 2020 on the GMT 94 Yamaha, Smith returns to WorldSSP in 2022 after a season spent competing in the British series heading up the Dynavolt Triumph project on the faired Triumph STR765.
However, after being omitted from the team’s line-up ahead of its graduation to the world championship in 2022, Smith has instead committed to VFT Yamaha, becoming the second British rider after Tom Booth-Amos to confirm a WorldSSP ride
“I am really motivated to return to the World Supersport scene and to start a new project, with a team that believes in me,” he said. “I can't wait to work hard for a successful season and show what we are capable of. I would like to thank all the sponsors who support us.”
A former privateer Yamaha WorldSBK entry with Fabio Menghi, the Italian - who now manages VFT - is delighted to have secured the services of a rider of Smith’s calibre.
“We were working on having a line-up consisting of fast riders for 2022, and I'm really happy to have Kyle Smith on our team.
“Kyle, together with Marcel, makes a duo of drivers who will give us more than just a few satisfactions, especially since our team, with over 30 years of experience, is more motivated and hungrier for success than ever.
“I would like to thank the sponsors and all those who believe in this project like we do.”
VFT endured a tough 2021 WorldSSP season but ended the year on a brighter note with a podium courtesy of Federico Caricasulo in the Indonesia finale.
Smith, meanwhile, was a double race winner on the Dynavolt Triumph in an injury interrupted campaign en route to seventh in the standings.
