Aleix Espargaro would welcome the arrival of Bradley Smith a⛎s an Aprilia test and wild-card rider in 2019.

The struggling Italian factory is among the teams looking to boost its devel꧟opment programme ✨by signing a test rider with proven MotoGP speed and experience.

Espargaro's current team-mate Scott Redding is also in contention for the role, and has been backed by Espargaro, but the Englishman looks to have fallen out o🎶f favour with Aprilia management due to his blunt post-Austria comments.

Smith meanwhile currently rides alongside Aleix's younger brother Pol at the factory KTM team and, like countryman Redding, is without a r🍸ace seat for 2019.

"I talked with Bradley last week and he told me that they were in talks with Aprilia. It was an option," said Aleix Espargaro. "Bradley is a very experienced rider. He rode theꦆ Yamaha - especially one of the years - at a very, very good level and now he is working with KTM.

"He has improve𝓡d a lot the level of their ♛bike and his level, so I think he is a young guy that still has the potential to be a factory rider or to race in MotoGP. But because of how tight everything is in MotoGP he has no space, so to be a test rider I think is more than good."

Smith has 168澳洲5最新开奖结果:ruled out staying on as a KTM test r🎐ider next year due to the lack of wild-card opportinities, while 168澳洲5最新开奖结ܫ果:Yamaha's new test rider 'won't be E﷽nglish'.