Moto Ain recruits Vinales to replace recovering Smith for 24H SPA EWC Motos

Spanish rider Isaac Viñales has been named as Bradley Smith’s replacement for next month’s 24H SPA EWC Motos. The former Moto2 and Supersport World Championship racer will join French squad Moto Ain, run by Pierre Chapuis, for the second round of the 2022 FIM Endurance World Championship as Briton Smith recovers from injuries sustained in a crash at the start of the 24 Heures Motos at Le Mans in April. Ad/> Viñales, the 28-year-old cousin of MotoGP ace Maverick Viñales, is new to the EWC but got the opportunity to sample the legendary Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps during pre-event testing earlier this week.

FIM EWCUpdated 24H SPA EWC Motos timetable released6 HOURS AGO He said: “The track is really spectacular. As many riders, a 24-hour endurance race has always been in a corner of my mind. This is why I went for this opportunity when Pierre told me about this project.

Even if many things are new for me, I feel confident. I know the tyres but not the bike. The [Yamaha] R1 of Moto Ain misses some power compared to the superbike engines, but the chassis is safe and stable.

So the adaptation has not been so difficult. The biggest challenge for the race will be to stay focused and steady all race long, especially during the stints at night.” Viñales will link up with experienced Italian Claudio Corti and rising French star Corentin Perolari. “Corentin and Claudio are two assets of the team,” Viñales said.

“Our lap times and datas are close. And so we can improve the settings of the bike altogether with the mechanics." Chapuis said: “It’s always a very risky bet to take riders from MotoGP, Moto2 or Superbike. They are often very fast, but they are used to riding on the limit all the time.