The CIA Landlord Insurance Honda team have announced that Kyle Smith, previously at GEMAR Team Lorini, will be joining them for the remainder of the 2018 FIM Supersport World Championship, starting this weekend at the Acerbis Czech Round.

The rider from Yorkshire, in his fourth season in the WorldSSP category, will thus return to the team he competed with throughout the 2016 season. During that year, Smith managed two wins at Assen and Losail, finishing an impressive fifth in the year standings.

This season, the Spain-based rider has scored 22 points so far in six races, a fifth at MotorLand Aragon his best result with the GEMAR Team Lorini.

Smith is ready for the challenge that awaits him: “I’m really happy to be reunited with the CIA Landlord Insurance Honda Team who I’ve enjoyed success with in the past. It’s been a difficult season so far and I am hoping I can now be racing with the front runners again. The CIA Landlord Insurance Honda is a competitive package and I feel I have the ability to get the best out of it”.

CIA Landlord Insurance Honda Team Manager Simon Buckmaster, meanwhile, had nothing but words of praise for the returnee: “We are really excited to work with Kyle again, he is a good guy and good to work with.  He’ll be back with his old crew chief Stu Millen and the whole team are really looking forward to working with him. We are confident we will see some positive results from Kyle in the remaining races putting us back in the position we need to be, fighting for the top six and fighting for the podium”.

How will the change of surroundings affect Smith's season? Find out starting this weekend from Brno, as the Acerbis Czech Round kicks off on the WorldSBK VideoPass.