British Superbike race winner Bradley Ray has been given a test on the Suzuki GSX-RR MotoGP bike at Sepang as reward for his strong 2018 campaign.
One-time Moto2 wildcard Ray stepped up to BSB in 2017 with Hawk Racing on a Suzuki GSX-1000R, and took his first victories last season on his way to sixth in the standings having been an early title contender. He also competed for Suzuki at the Suzuka 8 Hours, helping it to 10th.
Rumoured to be in talks with teams for a potential Moto2 switch this year, Ray will instead campaign his third BSB season with Hawk Racing.
After his strong sophomore outing, Suzuki has awarded the 21-year old a test on its works MotoGP machine.
Ray is expected to take to the Sepang circuit in Malaysia on Sunday during the final day of the shakedown test to get his first taste of MotoGP machinery. He will be joined by the Hamamtsu marque's test rider Sylvain Guintoli.
Last year, Suzuki gave former Moto2 world champion and MotoGP race winner Toni Elias a test outing at Sepang on the GSX-RR for winning the MotoAmerica title, while 18-times Isle of Man TT winner Michael Dunlop – who contested the 2017 event with Hawk Racing – also got to sample the bike.
Ray's fellow BSB frontrunner Jake Dixon will race in Moto2 this season, after he penned a deal to join the Angel Nieto squad, which returns to the intermediate class following a three-year absence.
The first official MotoGP test of the year gets underway on February 6 for three days at Sepang, with the final outing taking place over three days in Qatar two weeks later.
