Bradley Smith ready to get back on track at Catalunya

Bradley Smith’s pre-season plans are in full swing, with the British rider having spent time in the US last week before his attendance at the Circuit de Catalunya from Wednesday for a scheduled three-day test.

One of the favourites for the title in the 125cc class this year, Smith explained to motogp.com how his preparations have been going, and also what he had been doing in America.

“Pre-season has been going well,” said Smith. “Obviously I’ve been shredding the weight down again after Christmas in preparation for the start of the season. I am slowly winding up for the first race as we still have a good eight weeks before Qatar. But I will be ready and raring to go when the floodlights get switched on for round 1.”

Smith then discussed his activities in the US where he spent some time in California, having just completed three days of trail riding across the border in Mexico.

“I was riding with a lot of guys from the motocross industry, including some of the Nitro Circus crew. I also hooked up with John Hopkins for bicycle rides and met with a few English guys who are over there doing the AMA supercross. I made sure I got in the hours I need but also enjoyed the sunshine.”

Although the first official test of the pre-season does not take place until March 1-3 in Valencia, this week’s meeting at Montmeló will provide Smith with the chance to reacquaint himself with his bike. It will also provide the opportunity to ride alongside some of those he will do battle with for this year’s title, riders such as Pol Espargaró, Marc Márquez, Efrén Vázquez, Nico Terol, Esteve Rabat and Alberto Moncayo, who are all due to be present.

“Barcelona will be a chance to get back into riding again,” stated Smith. “It’s going to be tough to get back into the swing of riding so I’ll take things step by step. The main objective will be to find a solid base set-up with the bike so I will be ready for the Grand Prix there in July. I am sure we will have some parts to test but it will just be nice to start the Aprilia up and get back on track after three months.”

And looking forward to the new campaign, which gets underway at the Losail circuit on April 11, Smith added: “It’s really been nice to look back on 2009 and see so many great points from the season, but I have studied my weak points and will be out to set things straight for 2010. I want to improve on last year, with more podiums, more wins and less crashes. With this plan we should be somewhere near the top by the end of the final race.”