Malaysian Moto2 racer Khairul Idham Pawi, better known as “SuperKIP” to his fans, will be sitting out the 2019 British MotoGP on 25 August at Silverstone. His seat will be taken by Englishman Bradley Smith, who is currently racing in the 2019 FIM Enel MotoE World Cup and last raced a Moto2 machine in 2012.

After crashing during testing at Jerez in May, Khairul underwent surgery on his right hand with a partial amputation of the little finger, causing him to miss eight rounds, the greater part of the 2019 Moto2 race season. Previously, his place was filled in by Italian Mattia Pasini and German Jonas Folger.

Despite attempting a comeback at the Czech Grand Prix at Brno, pain caused Khairul to pull out of the race. A second surgery was performed in Barcelona to insert a screw into the reconstructed bone in his finger.

Smith expressed excitement at the chance to race at his home Grand Prix, being based some 30 minutes from Silverstone. “Honestly, it’s going to be quite strange to jump onto a Moto2 bike for the first time since 2012, because the championship has changed quite a lot. I’ve followed the changes very closely with the new engine and a little more torque and power, but it’s still going to be very different for me,” he said.

-paultan