Randy de Puniet to test with PBM

UPDATE: Randy de Puniet - departing the Aspar team after Sunday's race - plus a 2014 version of the Aprilia ART bike confirmed at PBM for next week's Valencia test.

Randy de Puniet looks set to test for PBM at Valencia on Monday, sources close to the team have confirmed.

The Frenchman has raced an ART at Aspar for the past two seasons and the test could be the first step towards closer links between PBM and Aprilia.

de Puniet has also been the Suzuki test rider this year, but is yet to decide on his 2014 plans and could well be tempted to continue racing with the upgraded ART.

With Aspar and Cardion AB moving to Honda, PBM is the only remaining ART team yet to decide on its 2014 machinery and already has knowledge of running the RSV4 with the standard ECU system on its own PBM bike.

Should PBM become Aprilia's number one team - meetings are ongoing at Valencia - the Italian brand are likely to want an experienced MotoGP rider such as de Puniet to help race develop the machine, as it works towards its newly announced 2016 factory entry.