Smith's Triumph riders Graeme Gowland and Billy McConnell will start their season with a bang by wildcarding at the opening Phillip Island World Supersport round.

The pair will run factory-backed Daytona 675s but won't benefit from traction control as run by the rest of the pack as they will be running in Motorpoint British Supersport trim, where it is outlawed.

“We’ve been thinking about doing the Phillip Island race for a while and now it’s all come together really quickly. I’m pumped to be racing at home but it’ll be tough without the traction control," said Australian McConnell.

"I’ve ridden in WSS on the Triumph so I know what to expect so I’ll just have to hang it out a bit when the tyre goes and hope for the best. I’m deadly serious about winning the British Championship this year and this is an ideal way to start our preparations.”

Gowland added: "This is a brilliant opportunity to get an early race under our belts and to for me to familiarise myself with the Triumph and the Smiths Racing Team. It will also give us a head start on our rivals who won’t start testing until March so by then we will hopefully have an advantage.

"We have a test there the week before which will help and I’ve raced there before too. I love the track and whilst it will be tough, I’m really looking forward to it and hope we can score some good points.”