SWINDON teenager Charlie Nesbitt has finally put pen to paper on a new contract to race in the Moto3 Junior World Championship for 2018.

The deal will see the 16-year-old again race in the Estrella Galicia 0,0 garage for the Monlau Engineering Team, but this year the contract includes a wildcard for the British MotoGP event.

Nesbitt, who is managed by Michael Bartholemy and Scott Redding, will continue to receive support from Dorna as part of their plan to bring on British talent.

The bike chassis will be the same as this year’s because there were no changes to it last season although he will get the 2017 Moto3 World Championship specification engine for 2018.

Nesbitt has grown in confidence throughout this season and showed great pace, despite the setbacks he suffered in the middle of the year.

After two point-scoring finishes from the first two races, Nesbitt suffered a crash in free practice at the Barcelona-Catalunya circuit.

Then at Valencia on his comeback he was taken out in the first corner in race one and later was involved in an unavoidable collision when the rider in front high-sided in the second race.

Undeterred, Nesbitt came back to score a seventh in Estoril and an eighth at Jerez and has shown he has the pace to be racing with the front-runners.

With one round to go in his rookie season in the Moto3 Junior Championship Nesbitt goes to Valencia comfortable that he has his ride secured for 2018.

Nesbitt said: “It’s awesome to have signed with Monlau Engineering again. I’m really happy because I know I can run in the leading group.

“Next year I’ve got the bonus of competing in my home GP at world level too.”