Lorenzo suffered a crash in Race 2 at the previous round in Thailand, and is still in a recovery period following the incident.

He will be substituted this weekend by Spanish rider Julián Simón. Simón previously won the 125cc Championship for Aprilia in 2009 and was most recently a contender in the Moto2 series. He is looking forward to his first experience with the 1000cc Aprilia RSV4 RF:

“Firstly I want to thank SMR and Aprilia for this opportunity. I am really happy and excited to participate in my first SBK race. I am sorry for Lorenzo that he is hurt, and I hope that he recovers soon.

When I got the call from the team it was an incredible surprise, and I could not say no. I would also like to thank my rider Tito Rabat for his support; he told me I must ride and to enjoy it!

For this weekend I want to understand the RSV4 RF as quickly as possible and to know the team. I am excited to race, and I hope we can achieve some good results.”

Lorenzo will be in attendance at Aragon this weekend to support his team, and is expected to be fully race-ready for Round 4 at Assen in 4 weeks’ time. All at Milwaukee Aprilia wish him a swift recovery.