Anvil Hire Yamaha have announced that Howie Mainwaring-Smart will ride for the team in the final three races of the season at Brands Hatch.
Mainwaring-Smart will join James Rispoli and Shaun Winfield in a three-man line-up for the last race weekend of the season.
The Cheshire born racer has been recovering from a broken collarbone, sustained in a crash at Cadwell Park in August, but is now ready to re-join the action in Kent.
Mainwaring-Smart is excited to return to the series and has already set his sights on a strong end to 2016.
He said: “As you can imagine I’m really looking forward to it! It’s been a little while off a motorbike, which wasn’t really my choice due to injury. I know it’s the last round, which isn’t great but it’s the right time to come back, my shoulder is strong and my rib has settled down now, and I must thank Rob and Tracy for the opportunity.
“It will be good to get back on a bike that I really do enjoy riding, I really enjoy the Yamaha and I felt like I wanted more time on it, so it will be great to get another run out on it this weekend. I want to do the best I can, I’ve got to aim for the top ten, and realistically top 15 which is still going to be quite difficult, but I think we can do it.
“Brands Hatch is one of my favourite tracks, alongside Oulton Park and Thruxton, I’m only ten minutes down the road, and it’s always a fantastic place with the atmosphere. I’m looking to see what happens for the future, and find out what the team want do as well.”
Mainwaring-Smart has good memories of the final round at Brands Hatch, his adopted home race, where back in 2014 he took his first win, and backed that up with a podium in Sunday’s second race.
Team Manager Gary Winfield added: “We are delighted to welcome Howie to the team, albeit for the final round. There is no pressure on him to succeed, but points should be fully within his reach on a track that he knows, and a bike that he has experience of.
“He performed well back in August and he impressed a lot of people having just jumped on that bike. It will take him time to adjust having not ridden since then, but we all know that he is a quick learner and I’m hoping he will spur on James and Shaun, so we can end the season on a high.”
The action at Brands Hatch gets underway on Friday with the opening free practice sessions. Qualifying then takes place on Saturday morning, with the opening race scheduled for 3:45pm on Saturday.
