Bradley Smith (motorcyclist)

Bradley Smith (born 28 November 1990) is a British motorcycle racer, contracted to Aprilia Racing Team Gresini as a development/test/replacement rider in the MotoGP class of the World Championship.[1] He won the Suzuka 8 Hours in 2015, with Yamaha teammates Katsuyuki Nakasuga and Pol Espargaró.

Bradley Smith
Smith in 2012
Nationality	British
Born	28 November 1990 Oxford, Oxfordshire, England
Current team	Aprilia Racing Team Gresini
Bike number	38
Website	www.bradleysmith38.com
Motorcycle racing career statistics MotoGP World Championship Active years 2013– Manufacturers Yamaha, KTM, Aprilia Championships 0 2020 championship position 21st (12 pts) Starts Wins Podiums Poles F. laps Points 119 0 2 0 0 559 Moto2 World Championship Active years 2011–2012, 2019 Manufacturers Tech 3, Kalex Championships 0 2019 championship position NC (0 pts) Starts Wins Podiums Poles F. laps Points 34 0 3 0 1 233 125cc World Championship Active years 2006–2010 Manufacturers Honda, Aprilia Championships 0 2010 championship position 4th (223 pts) Starts Wins Podiums Poles F. laps Points 80 3 20 9 4 717.5 MotoE World Cup Active years 2019 Manufacturers Energica Championships 0 2019 championship position 2nd (88 pts) Starts Wins Podiums Poles F. laps Points 6 0 4 0 0 88

Smith is the only rider to have taken a podium in all four classes of Grand Prix motorcycle racing, with top-three finishes in the pre-Moto3 125cc class, Moto2 class, MotoGP class and MotoE World Cup.

Smith had a long association with the French Tech3 team, riding for six seasons, two in Moto2 class and four in MotoGP using factory-supported Yamaha YZR-M1 machines.

Career

Early career

Born in Oxford, Oxfordshire,[2] Smith's father raced in Motocross, and the family owned an open practice track. Smith got his first motocross bike aged six.[3]

Smith applied for selection to the Auto-Cycle Union (ACU) academy for young racers, but was never chosen. He spent a year in 2004 aged 13 competing in Aprilia Superteens competition, finishing fourth behind three ACU Academy riders. In January 2005 he was asked to compete for the year in the Spanish 125cc championship as part of the MOTO GP Academy, winning the last three races ending the year 2nd just one point behind the champion.

125cc World Championship

For 2006, he joined the Repsol Honda 125cc Grand Prix World Championship squad, managed by Alberto Puig finishing 19th overall and rookie of the year, with a best result of 8th place in Motegi.

Remaining with the team in 2007, he took a first podium with third place at Le Mans.[4] Nine more top-10 finishes left him 10th overall.

Smith signed with the Polaris World Aprilia team for the 2008 season.[5] He secured his first pole position at the opening round of the season at the Losail International Circuit in Qatar on 8 March,[6] but suffered a technical problem while leading.[7] A number of midseason injuries affected him,[8] but he scored podium finishes at Jerez and Le Mans (after briefly leading the five-lap sprint required by a red flag for rain). He led at both Assen and Sachsenring, but finished off the podium in both. He ended the season sixth overall, with three poles and four podium finishes but no victory.

Smith at the 2009 British Grand Prix

For the 2009 season, Smith signed for Jorge Martínez's Bancaja Aspar Team to continue to ride an Aprilia, alongside Julian Simon. The deal also included an option to race in 250s for the team in 2010.[9] Smith had almost signed for the team in 2008, before signing for Polarisworld.[10]

Smith won his first ever Grand Prix with a dominant performance at Jerez in May 2009. Smith's first Pole Position of the season came at Mugello in which he scored his second Grand Prix victory after a brilliant fight against Nicolás Terol and Julian Simon. This race put Smith in the lead of the Championship with 74.5 points, just 3.5 points ahead of Simon. However, Simon hit form and ultimately won the title. Smith finished second to his teammate in the last three races of the season, losing the lead on the final lap in two of them. He ultimately finished as series runner-up.

In August 2009, Smith stated his ambition to move up to the new Moto2 class with the Aspar team,[11] but the team's two seats were given to Julian Simon and Mike Di Meglio instead. In November 2009, Smith agreed a deal to remain with the Aspar team in the 125cc class for 2010 alongside Nicolas Terol.[12]

Smith was a favourite for the title in 2010, after finishing runner-up in 2009, however the year was dominated by Spanish trio Marc Márquez, Pol Espargaró and Nicolás Terol. Smith did however manage three pole positions and six podiums, including a win at the final round of the season in Valencia on the way to fourth place in championship standings.

Tech3 (2011–2012)

After the 2010 Portuguese Grand Prix, it was announced that Smith would be competing in Moto2 in 2011, racing for the Tech3 team, alongside one of the riders that had denied him a Moto2 move a year previous, Mike Di Meglio.[13] On 19 September 2011, it was announced that Smith had signed a three-year contract with Tech 3 that would see him remain in Moto2 in 2012, before moving to MotoGP in 2013.[14]

Smith started his debut campaign in the Moto2 class well with seventh in his first race before following it up with a fourth-place finish at the Spanish Grand Prix. Smith scored his first podium with a second-place finish in his home Grand Prix at Silverstone, and he followed it up with two third-place finishes at the next two rounds. Smith finished his début season in the class, in seventh place in the final championship standings.

Smith's 2012 season was full of consistent points-scoring finishes, scoring points in all bar two races, but without a podium. His best result was a fourth-place finish at the Italian Grand Prix, and he eventually finished the season in ninth place in the final championship standings.

Petronas Sprinta Racing (2019)

Smith replaced Khairul Idham Pawi at his home grand prix in Silverstone, as one of several replacement riders following the Malaysian's withdrawal from the season due to injury.

Monster Yamaha Tech3 (2013–2016)

Smith was promoted to the premier class aboard a Yamaha for Tech3, with teammate Cal Crutchlow. He concluded the season in 10th place, with 116 points, running consistently within the top ten riders in most races. His best result were a trio of sixth places obtained in the Catalan, German and Australian Grands Prix.

Smith at the 2014 French Grand Prix

In 2014, Smith continued to race with Tech3, with teammate Pol Espargaró. He finished fifth in the second round of the championship, the Grand Prix of the Americas in Texas, achieving his best result at that time. Later in the season, Smith achieved his first podium in MotoGP at Phillip Island, finishing in third place; he took advantage of late-race crashes for Cal Crutchlow and Espargaró to move into the position.[15] He also received a penalty point from Race Direction, after he was deemed to have overtaken another rider under yellow flags.[16] He finished the season in 8th place.

Smith alongside Valentino Rossi at the 2015 Catalan Grand Prix

Remaining with Tech3 for the 2015 season, Smith finished each of the first twelve races in the top ten placings, with two fifth-place finishes being his best results. At the San Marino Grand Prix, Smith achieved his best MotoGP result with a second-place finish despite staying out on track on slick tyres as rain was falling – he fell as low as 21st in the race order before riding through the field.[17] With Scott Redding finishing third, the duo became the first pair of British riders to finish on a premier class podium since Barry Sheene and Tom Herron did so at the Venezuelan Grand Prix in 1979.[18] With 181 points, Smith achieved his (as of February 2020) career-best finish in the MotoGP class in 6th place, best of all non-factory riders.

In 2016 a difficult start to the season culminated in a mid-season injury in practice at the Czech round. Though he started the Czech race before a mechanical retirement, Smith subsequently missed the next 3 rounds due to the sustained injury, being replaced by superbike rider Alex Lowes.[19] Smith was relegated to just 17th place in the rider's championship.

Red Bull KTM Factory Racing (2017–2018)

In March 2016, Smith was confirmed as the first-signed rider for the new KTM works entry to the championship.[20] He was later joined by his long-time Tech3 teammate Espargaró.[21]

The 2017 season proved difficult but positive for Smith and the new constructor, finishing third-to-last of all regular riders and well behind his teammate, but achieving sufficient points to finish ahead of Aprilia in the constructors' championship and 10th of 12 in the teams' championship.

2018 showed slight improvement for Smith as he climbed to 18th place in the championship with 38 points, though well behind teammate Espargaró, despite having fewer retirements on the season.

Aprilia Racing Team Gresini (2019–present)

With the high-profile signing of Johann Zarco at KTM, Smith was dropped by the factory team. He was quickly signed by Aprilia in a test rider role. Aprilia elected to enter Smith as a wildcard entry at four rounds: Qatar, Jerez, Catalunya, and Aragon. With 2 retirements, a 17th- and a 19th-place finish, he achieved 0 points in his wildcard entries.

One Energy Racing (2019)

For 2019, alongside his Aprilia test and wildcard rider duties, Smith was permitted to sign with One Energy Racing for the inaugural season of the MotoE World Cup.[22] Of the six race season, Smith achieved four podiums and clinched second place in the standings with 88 points.

Career statistics

Suzuka 8 Hours results

Year	Team	Co-Riders	Bike	Pos
2015	Yamaha Factory Racing Team	Pol Espargaró Katsuyuki Nakasuga	Yamaha YZF-R1	1st

By season

Season	Class	Motorcycle	Team	Number	Race	Win	Podium	Pole	FLap	Pts	Plcd	WCh
2006	125cc	Honda RS125R	Repsol Honda	38	14	0	0	0	0	20	19th	–
2007	125cc	Honda RS125R	Repsol Honda 125cc	38	16	0	1	0	0	101	10th	–
2008	125cc	Aprilia RSA 125	Polaris World	38	17	0	4	3	0	150	6th	–
2009	125cc	Aprilia RSA 125	Bancaja Aspar Team 125cc	38	16	2	9	3	3	223.5	2nd	–
2010	125cc	Aprilia RSA 125	Bancaja Aspar Team	38	17	1	6	3	1	223	4th	–
2011	Moto2	Tech3 Mistral 610	Tech3 Racing	38	16	0	3	0	1	121	7th	–
2012	Moto2	Tech3 Mistral 610	Tech3 Racing	38	17	0	0	0	0	112	9th	–
2013	MotoGP	Yamaha YZR-M1	Monster Yamaha Tech3	38	18	0	0	0	0	116	10th	–
2014	MotoGP	Yamaha YZR-M1	Monster Yamaha Tech3	38	18	0	1	0	0	121	8th	–
2015	MotoGP	Yamaha YZR-M1	Monster Yamaha Tech3	38	18	0	1	0	0	181	6th	–
2016	MotoGP	Yamaha YZR-M1	Monster Yamaha Tech3	38	15	0	0	0	0	62	17th	–
2017	MotoGP	KTM RC16	Red Bull KTM Factory Racing	38	17	0	0	0	0	29	21st	–
2018	MotoGP	KTM RC16	Red Bull KTM Factory Racing	38	18	0	0	0	0	38	18th	–
2019	MotoGP	Aprilia RS-GP	Aprilia Racing Team Gresini	38	4	0	0	0	0	0	NC	–
	Moto2	Kalex	Petronas Sprinta Racing	38	1	0	0	0	0	0	NC
	MotoE	Energica Ego Corsa	One Energy Racing	38	6	0	4	0	0	88	2nd
2020	MotoGP	Aprilia RS-GP	Aprilia Racing Team Gresini	38	11	0	0	0	0	12	21st	–
Total					239	3	29	9	5	1597.5		0

By class

Class	Seasons	1st GP	1st Pod	1st Win	Race	Win	Podiums	Pole	FLap	Pts	WChmp
125cc	2006–2010	2006 Spain	2007 France	2009 Spain	80	3	20	9	4	717.5	0
Moto2	2011–2012, 2019	2011 Qatar	2011 Great Britain		34	0	3	0	1	233	0
MotoGP	2013–2020	2013 Qatar	2014 Australia		119	0	2	0	0	559	0
MotoE	2019	2019 Germany	2019 Germany		6	0	4	0	0	88	0
Total	2006–Present				239	3	29	9	5	1597.5	0

Races by year

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year	Class	Bike	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	Pos	Pts
2006	125cc	Honda	SPA 17	QAT 22	TUR Ret	CHN 22	FRA 21	ITA 19	CAT 16	NED 16	GBR 12	GER 12	CZE	MAL	AUS 28	JPN 8	POR Ret	VAL 12				19th	20
2007	125cc	Honda	QAT 12	SPA 26	TUR 8	CHN 8	FRA 3	ITA 8	CAT 6	GBR 7	NED DNS	GER 8	CZE 13	RSM 8	POR 12	JPN Ret	AUS 16	MAL 9	VAL 8			10th	101
2008	125cc	Aprilia	QAT 16	SPA 3	POR Ret	CHN Ret	FRA 2	ITA 5	CAT 14	GBR 10	NED 5	GER 4	CZE 6	RSM 2	IND 8	JPN Ret	AUS Ret	MAL 2	VAL 4			6th	150
2009	125cc	Aprilia	QAT 5	JPN 10	SPA 1	FRA 4	ITA 1	CAT 8	NED 3	GER Ret	GBR 20	CZE 4	IND 2	RSM 3	POR 3	AUS 2	MAL 2	VAL 2				2nd	223.5
2010	125cc	Aprilia	QAT 8	SPA 4	FRA 5	ITA 4	GBR 3	NED 4	CAT 2	GER 5	CZE 6	IND Ret	RSM 4	ARA 3	JPN 3	MAL 5	AUS 5	POR 3	VAL 1			4th	223
2011	Moto2	Tech 3	QAT 9	SPA 4	POR 29	FRA 9	CAT 19	GBR 2	NED 3	ITA 3	GER Ret	CZE Ret	IND 4	RSM 6	ARA 6	JPN 7	AUS 18	MAL DNS	VAL 23			7th	121
2012	Moto2	Tech 3	QAT 9	SPA 11	POR 10	FRA 9	CAT 12	GBR 7	NED 6	GER 7	ITA 4	IND 15	CZE 8	RSM 8	ARA 5	JPN Ret	MAL 7	AUS 11	VAL 16			9th	112
2013	MotoGP	Yamaha	QAT Ret	AME 12	SPA 10	FRA 9	ITA 9	CAT 6	NED 9	GER 6	USA Ret	IND 8	CZE Ret	GBR 9	RSM 11	ARA 7	MAL 7	AUS 6	JPN 8	VAL 7		10th	116
2014	MotoGP	Yamaha	QAT Ret	AME 5	ARG 7	SPA 8	FRA 10	ITA Ret	CAT 10	NED 8	GER 19	IND 6	CZE 9	GBR 22	RSM 7	ARA 5	JPN 9	AUS 3	MAL 5	VAL 14		8th	121
2015	MotoGP	Yamaha	QAT 8	AME 6	ARG 6	SPA 8	FRA 6	ITA 5	CAT 5	NED 7	GER 6	IND 6	CZE 7	GBR 7	RSM 2	ARA 8	JPN 7	AUS 10	MAL 4	VAL 6		6th	181
2016	MotoGP	Yamaha	QAT 8	ARG 8	AME 17	SPA 12	FRA Ret	ITA 7	CAT Ret	NED 13	GER 13	AUT 9	CZE Ret	GBR	RSM	ARA	JPN 13	AUS 8	MAL 14	VAL 9		17th	62
2017	MotoGP	KTM	QAT 17	ARG 15	AME 16	SPA 14	FRA 13	ITA 20	CAT DNS	NED Ret	GER 14	CZE Ret	AUT 18	GBR 17	RSM 10	ARA 19	JPN 17	AUS 10	MAL 12	VAL 11		21st	29
2018	MotoGP	KTM	QAT 18	ARG Ret	AME 16	SPA 13	FRA 14	ITA 14	CAT Ret	NED 17	GER 10	CZE Ret	AUT 14	GBR C	RSM 16	ARA 13	THA 15	JPN 12	AUS 10	MAL 15	VAL 8	18th	38
2019	MotoGP	Aprilia	QAT Ret	ARG	AME	SPA 17	FRA	ITA	CAT Ret	NED	GER	CZE	AUT			ARA 19	THA	JPN	AUS	MAL	VAL	NC	0
	Moto2	Kalex												GBR Ret	RSM							NC	0
	MotoE	Energica	GER 2	AUT 3	RSM1 12	RSM2 8	VAL1 2	VAL2 2														2nd	88
2020	MotoGP	Aprilia	SPA 15	ANC 12	CZE 17	AUT 13	STY 19	RSM 19	EMI 13	CAT 16	FRA Ret	ARA 19	TER 15	EUR	VAL	POR						21st	12

References

1. KTM MotoGP racer Bradley Smith announced as 2019 Aprilia test rider Autosport, 7 September 2018. Retrieved 3 October 2018
2. "Official MotoGP profile". Archived from the original on 25 June 2007.
3. Shea, Julian (26 March 2006). "Teenager Smith hits the big time". BBC News.
4. "LONDONBIKERS". LONDONBIKERS. Archived from the original on 1 December 2008. Retrieved 13 July 2008.
5. "Bradley Smith for full factory backed Aprilia 125".
6. 2008 125cc Qualifying – Qatar
7. "Yahoo UK & Ireland - Sports News - Live Scores - Results". Yahoo Sports.
8. "Bradley Smith nearing full fitness for German clash".
9. Ltd., Crash Media Group. "Smith column: Signing for Aspar. - MotoGP News".
10. Sports, Dorna. "Aspar confirms Smith and Simon for 2009 125cc team". www.motogp.com.
11. Bradley Smith for Moto2 in 2010
12. Ltd., Crash Media Group. "125: Bradley Smith signs for 2010. - MotoGP News".
13. "Smith and Di Meglio to front Tech 3 Moto2 effort next season". motogp.com. Dorna Sports. 31 October 2010. Retrieved 1 November 2010.
14. "Smith signs Tech 3 MotoGP deal". Carole Nash. Insidebikes. 19 September 2011. Archived from the original on 25 March 2012. Retrieved 19 September 2011.
15. "Maiden MotoGP podium for diligent Smith". MotoGP.com. Dorna Sports. 19 October 2014. Archived from the original on 19 October 2014. Retrieved 19 October 2014.
16. "Rossi takes 82nd premier class victory in incident packed race". MotoGP.com. Dorna Sports. 19 October 2014. Archived from the original on 13 November 2014. Retrieved 19 October 2014.
17. "Smith: "Luck favours the brave"". MotoGP.com. Dorna Sports. 13 September 2015. Retrieved 13 September 2015.
18. "Two Brits join Marc Marquez on the podium". BBC Sport. BBC. 13 September 2015. Retrieved 13 September 2015.
19. "Smith out for Silverstone and Misano - Lowes to step in". MotoGP.com. Dorna Sports. 29 August 2016. Retrieved 25 February 2020.
20. "KTM signs Bradley Smith as MotoGP™ factory rider". MotoGP.com. Dorna Sports. 20 March 2016. Retrieved 25 February 2020.
21. "Pol Espargaro to join KTM's MotoGP™ efforts". MotoGP.com. Dorna Sports. 2 June 2016. Retrieved 25 February 2020.
22. "Smith teams up with One Energy Racing for 2019 MotoE™ season". MotoGP.com. Dorna Sports. Retrieved 25 February 2020.

External links

• Official website