Britain’s Bradley Smith intends to use this weekend’s Motegi MotoGP round to adjust back to the pace of riding following his enforced seven-week break from competition.

The Monster Yamaha man has been sidelined with injury after being run over at the Oschersleben Eight-Hour but following surgery and watching Alex Lowes ride his M1, the Oxfordshire coppertop is ready to race.

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,” said Smith.

“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 Eight-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."