BMW Motorrad Motorsport has announced it will add former MotoGP rider Bradley Smith to its test rider line-up ahead of the 2024 WorldSBK Championship season.

The British rider has maintained a fairly low profile since exiting the premier class at the end of the 2020 MotoGP season, with only a handful of international outings in MotoE and the Endurance World Championship since then.

Ahead of the 2024 racing season, however, Smith will be aligned with a major manufacturer once again after penning a deal to help test and develop the BMW M 1000 RR to assist with the German firm’s WorldSBK project.

“To be asked by BMW Motorrad to join the test team is a great privilege. I will work my hardest to deliver what our four WorldSBK factory riders need to battle with the best in the championship.”

Though Smith - a 25-time GP podium winner - has never competed in Superbikes full-time, he does have the distinction of winning the Suzuka 8 Hours endurance race alongside Pol Espargaro and Katsuyuki Nakasuga in 2015 for Yamaha.

Smith’s arrival comes at a time of significant investment from BMW to bring its WorldSBK effort up to standard having been comfortably out-paced by Ducati, Kawasaki and Yamaha since its return to the series with the latest generation S 1000 RR/M 1000 RR in 2019.

After signing 2020 WorldSBK runner-up Scott Redding ahead of the 2022 WorldSBK season, BMW welcomes 2021 WorldSBK Champion Toprak Razgatlioglu into its racing line-up for 2024, alongside Michael van der Mark in the factory ROKiT BMW line-up, while Redding and Garrett Gerloff comprise the satellite Bonovo Action Racing team.