Bradley Smith will be back in the saddle of his YZR-M1 at the Motul Grand Prix of Japan after sitting out the past three MotoGP™ races due to a knee injury sustained in August.
The Yamaha rider suffered serious ligament damage to his left knee at the Oschersleben 8H endurance race and has worked hard to make a swift recovery. The Briton will aim to meet the chequered flag in a solid position in the 24 lap race in Japan on Sunday.
Bradley Smith: “I am excited about jumping back on my YZR-M1 and even though I know it will be a challenging race, I am determined and I will do my very best. It will be the first time that I can ride a MotoGP bike after seven weeks and even though I am almost fit, it will take me a bit of time to fully adjust to being back on the Yamaha. This will be the initial goal of the weekend, but I am confident that I can quickly get up to speed again.”
“Japan is a special place, with it being the home of Yamaha and also the country where I won the Suzuka 8 Hours event last year. Plus, the fans are fantastic and really supportive which will motivate me even further. However, I know this weekend will be physically demanding due to the stop and go nature of the circuit, plus, there are a lot of hard braking corners but I am certain that we can start the flyaway races positively before we head to Phillip Island.”