Smith aiming for top six

Bradley Smith is aiming to break into the top six this weekend and take advantage of Dani Pedrosa missing the Grand Prix of the Americas. Smith, who finished eighth in Qatar, enjoyed a solid winter testing programme and has been looking very comfortable on the Tech3 Yamaha and his performance last year in COTA has given him hope of another strong outing this weekend.

“With Dani out, we have to look at a top six,” said Smith. “My mentality this year is top satellite. I still believe even though the Honda is a little bit better around this track, we can still have a good race. I was right with Stefan at the end of last year, I was actually able to catch Bautista at the end of last year before he crashed. With all those in mind, it’s possible. It’s not an impossible task.”

The weather is one factor that no-one can control and this weekend the forecast is for rain in Austin. When asked by MCN how a rider deals with riding in the wet and what are the biggest factors in finding performance in the rain Smith said:

“Confidence. Confidence is the biggest thing in the wet. Having that feeling underneath the bike to be able to lay it into the corner like you need to, keep that temperature high, keeping your hands and feet loose. If you’re not confident, you tense up and it just gets worse and worse and worse. If you are confident, you just lay it into the corner, and everything just seems to work that little bit nicer. That’s the biggest thing, it’s not anything special, it’s just giving the rider the right feeling through his hands, his butt and his feet to go that extra little bit.”