Mike Jones to replace Bautista at Phillip Island

Mike Jones will return to the MotoGP grid at Phillip Island this weekend, as a replacement for Alvaro Bautista at the Angel Nieto (Ducati) Team.

Bautista has been called up by the factory Ducati squad in place of the injured Jorge Lorenzo, allowing Jones to make his third grand prix start after a pair of stand-in rides for Avintia Ducati in 2016.

“I’m very excited and grateful to race with the Ángel Nieto Team at my home race of the MotoGP," Jones said. "Phillip Island is a circuit that I know well and enjoy very much. I look forward to learning step-by-step throughout the weekend and ultimately riding to the best of my ability."

Jones, who scored a point for 15th place at his home track in 2016, will use Karel Abraham's GP16 machines while the Czech rider gets Bautista's GP17s, echoing the machine swap at Avintia following Tito Rabat's leg injuries at Silverstone.

“We will give our best to be fighting for the points again in Australia," Abraham said. "We will be riding the Ducati GP17 for the first time and I am grateful to the team for the opportunity to do this. Hopefully we can take it to a strong result.”

Lorenzo is aiming to return for the penultimate round of the season, at Sepang.