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
NationalityBritish
Born (1990-11-28) 28 November 1990
Oxford, Oxfordshire, England
Current teamAprilia Racing Team Gresini
Bike number38
Websitewww.bradleysmith38.com
Motorcycle racing career statistics
MotoGP World Championship
Active years2013
ManufacturersYamaha, KTM, Aprilia
Championships0
2020 championship position21st (12 pts)
Starts Wins Podiums Poles F. laps Points
119 0 2 0 0 559
Moto2 World Championship
Active years20112012, 2019
ManufacturersTech 3, Kalex
Championships0
2019 championship positionNC (0 pts)
Starts Wins Podiums Poles F. laps Points
34 0 3 0 1 233
125cc World Championship
Active years20062010
ManufacturersHonda, Aprilia
Championships0
2010 championship position4th (223 pts)
Starts Wins Podiums Poles F. laps Points
80 3 20 9 4 717.5
MotoE World Cup
Active years2019
ManufacturersEnergica
Championships0
2019 championship position2nd (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.

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.

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.

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.
Sporting positions
Preceded by
Leon Haslam
Takumi Takahashi
Michael van der Mark
Suzuka 8 Hours
Winner

2015
With: Pol Espargaró
Katsuyuki Nakasuga
Succeeded by
Katsuyuki Nakasuga
Alex Lowes
Pol Espargaró
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.