Current British Supersport Cup runaway leader John Simpson will add British Superbike duties to his weekend at Cadwell Park after signing to ride for the Splitlath Aprilia team for the remainder of this season.

Simpson will continue in his current class on the T3 Triumph but will fight it out with the big boys alongside team-mate Karl Harris on the troublesome RSV4 machines. Simpson replaces Hudson Kennaugh who has gone to the PR Kawasaki team in place of the injured Simon Andrews.

“I’m really excited about it. The opportunity came my way and I decided to grab it. I tested at Cadwell Park last week and loved the bike. I haven’t ridden a 1000cc machine before, so it was a totally new experience but I really enjoyed it," said the youngster.

“John Dimbylow (team boss) has been brilliant, he’s 100% behind me winning the Supersport Cup so isn’t putting any pressure on me. This is a fantastic chance to get a taste of the Superbike class and hone my skills. I hadn’t planned on moving up to 1000s this season, but as soon as I was given a chance I knew I wanted to give it a go.”