Dani Rivas to ride with Avintia Blusens Team for rest of season

Dani Rivas has been drafted to replace British rider Kyle Smith in the Avintia Blusens Moto2 Team, joining fellow Spaniard Toni Elias for the rest of the season.

After a main sponsor had pulled out during the summer break, it looked like Smith had already lost his ride with the team, but a late confirmation to participate in the Indianapolis Grand Prix made things look promising again for the Brit. However, after Indy the Avintia Team issued the following statement.

“Unfortunately, the loss of the support of Kyle Smith’s main sponsor and the impossibility of the rider to face the economic commitments with the Blusens Avintia team have caused that, despite the excellent relationship between the rider and the team, Kyle is replaced by Dani Rivas, the CEV rider from Galicia. Dani will travel to Brno and race the remaining GPs until the end of the season. All the members of the Blusens Avintia team wish good luck to Kyle Smith for the future.”

Rivas so far had five wildcard appearances in the last three seasons, including two this year at Jerez and Catalunya. The 25-year-old currently sits in 10th position in the Moto2 Spanish Championship with Team TSR Motorsports after four races.