British MotoGP: Bradley Smith savours first home rostrum

British teenager Bradley Smith celebrated his first ever podium finish on home soil yesterday with a brilliant ride to third place in the Silverstone 125GP race.

The 19-year-old was unable to make a break with dominant duo Pol Espargaro and Marc Marquez but he held off Aspar Aprilia team-mate Nicolas Terol with some brilliant attacking riding to claim his first podium of 2010.

The Oxfordshire rider said: “I am delighted because I had a fantastic feeling with the bike for the entire race.

“I was strong early on and tried to squeeze everything out of the bike in order to get up front. I admit that on the last few laps I was riding beyond my limit, but that is the way one has to work in order to get on the podium.

“The Spanish riders are in great form at the moment, and it is difficult to beat them. Getting a home podium is fantastic, and I have to thank the team for their work over the weekend because they and Aprilia got me here.

“I am very happy with a first rostrum of the year, especially here at home.

“After five races we are back to the same level as last year, but we can’t drop our guard because we have two back-to-back races coming up and have to continue picking up points for the title fight.”

Smith is back in action in Assen this weekend chasing his first win since the Italian GP at Mugello over a year ago.