We were lucky enough to catch up with one of British Motorsport’s brightest stars, Bradley Smith, last week. Currently competing in the 125cc Grand Prix World Championship, he has been a regular frontrunner, recording two wins, seven podium finishes as well as four pole positions in his four seasons in the class.
So Bradley, can you tell us a bit about yourself?
Basically I grew up on a Motocross track because my dad is an ex Motocross rider and we had a track that was open to the public, so basically from the age of five or six I was going with my dad in the digger around the track and also riding a moto cross bike from the age of six!
So it’s just something I’ve been brought up around, but unfortunately a bad accident in 2003 gave me a compound fracture of my tib and fib and during the recovery stage I was introduced to road racing and at first I thought “this isn’t for me” but I pursued it and tried to get better and in a couple of years I was in the world championships and then now, a few years on, I’m where I am now - winning Grand Prix’s, it’s been a very fast track, I suppose from the bad injury I’ve got to where I am now, which is a fantastic position.
Ouch! So did that put your career on the back burner for a while?
I don’t think so, I think it opened different pathways for me, I do believe that if I stuck at Motocross I would still be in the World Championships but I wouldn’t be in the position that I am now. I do believe that this is a great place to be and I feel very privileged to be here and that’s a great thing for me.
So what’s the next step for you then?
It would be Motor 2 which is the equivalent of a 250 next year so I would be in the middle class. This is my forth year now so it’s time to move up and make a step.
So how do you think you’ll do in the next class up?
Hopefully good! I hope that my riding style or my technique is better suited to a better bike, I’m not 100% sure that the way I feel and ride the bike is suited to the 125cc, even though I’ve adapted to it, I do believe that getting on a bigger bike with more power will be better for me.
That’s one thing I was going to say about your style, It is very controlled and suited to a lighter bike, but you obviously you have to be very fit to drag a bike like that around when it wants to go in a straight line and you want it to get into the corners, what do you do to keep your fitness up?
I have to work hard! I really didn’t start training until 2004, taking things seriously really came in 2005 and my training is very triathlon based so I do a run and swimming and cycling are the two main things I do, simply because they are non-impact and impact sport does take a toll on your body and when we have such a long season, we can’t afford for any injury, especially in the feet or knees because they are so vital.
I’ve actually done a couple of triathlon races during the season which take my mind away from this habit, which a bit nice because I can focus on something else for once! To be honest, we don’t do that much weight training in the 125’s, simply because you have a weight limit you need to keep to and you don’t want to give too much of an advantage to someone else! I have to work hard this year to get a little bit more muscle and strength for the bigger bikes next year though!
So what about socialising, can you go and sink a couple of beers?
Haha, it is a very dedicated life… some people take it less seriously than others though…
Good answer! When do you think you will reach the pinnacle of what you can achieve?
Well. It’s going to be difficult, I think it’s going to be at least another three or four years before we start looking at things. Obviously the ambition is to get there, but I’m still only 23 so I’m still young enough to have a great crack at this, I’m in no rush and really it all depends on results, it’s not just going to come to me, I need to get great results and work hard from the word go.
When you’re around your rivals in your class, who do you see as a threat?
My team mate Julian Simon! He does seem to be the one at the moment who is making their bike work no matter what the condition or setting, he just makes it work from the beginning and he’s doing a fantastic job. The good thing is that I’ve got him in my garage so I can check his data and see where I’m losing the time.
So as a team you still work together?
Yeah, everything is open! We still are firmly together and everyone is working very hard and I think that’s one thing that makes our team so successful. Our boss doesn’t want one rider to be good, he wants all three riders to be good.
Who do you look up to as a rider?
Obviously there’s no-one better than Valentino Rossi!
Touching on Rossi, he’s very clinical, he just goes out there to win, have you got that ruthless streak?
You know, Rossi is a tactician and no-one seems to be able to beat him in an out and out race! When the race comes down to something magical, Rossi seems to be incredible at it. He knows so much and at the end of the day he’s been in this paddock for 10 or 11 years at least - I don’t even know how old he is… he’s got to be near 30 now? When you have his kind of experience you know there’s seomthing that makes him stand out from the rest!
Can you see yourself where his is in 12 years’ time?
That would only make me 30 as well so it won’t be particularly long! There’s every chance but I also have future plans away from racing, I want to finish my career on a high, I don’t want to stay just for the paycheque, I’d rather move on to another sport or stop it completely and help other riders. I don’t want to be here until my dying days.
Ah, so what other sports might you look at?
You know I am really interested into swimming, cycling running and triathlons. The real physical sports rather than anything else.
So, a lot of riders have other interests outside of the motorsport and run their own businesses as a result of their success… could you see yourself doing that and running your own fashion line or something?
You know, maybe a sports line or something, but I think the more that you have going on away from the race track the better. You can have too much but I don’t think life should be focused on racing, I think you need to looking into different avenues and you know it’s always difficult these sorts of things. I’m still just finding my feet in the racing but in a few years when things come along we shall wait and see…
A lot of younger people try to emulate yourself on the roads, which is obviously a potential disaster, what do you think about that?
Well, track days aren’t that expensive right now so people can go and do that, so if I could give one peiice of advice it would be to pay your money and go and ride there. The problem with the roads is that it isn’t always your own fault, there can be a chain of events, on our track there roads and the corners are the same, there are no variables and we have safety and run-off, so although it’s dangers, it’s as safe as it can be.
If you’re going to race, you might as well do it there and not on the road with cars and stuff going on too. For sure you need to enjoy yourself but if you want to up the speed you want to do it safely,
Is it a sport you’d recommend to people?
Oh without a doubt, this is a great sport!
Brilliant, now Bradley, I’m going to ask you some questions and I want you to give me a one or two word answer… ready?
Valentino Rossi?
Incredible.
You’re team mates?
Tough!
Your victory?
Fantastic!
Your sponsors?
Always there.
Read our interview with Nicky Hayden here
Thanks for the day go to Moto GP sponsor Tissot. Check out the range of limited edition Moto GP watches here
We were lucky enough to catch up with one of British Motorsport’s brightest stars, Bradley Smith, last week. Currently competing in the 125cc Grand Prix World Championship, he has been a regular frontrunner, recording two wins, seven podium finishes as well as four pole positions in his four seasons in the class.
So Bradley, can you tell us a bit about yourself?
Basically I grew up on a Motocross track because my dad is an ex Motocross rider and we had a track that was open to the public, so basically from the age of five or six I was going with my dad in the digger around the track and also riding a moto cross bike from the age of six!
So it’s just something I’ve been brought up around, but unfortunately a bad accident in 2003 gave me a compound fracture of my tib and fib and during the recovery stage I was introduced to road racing and at first I thought “this isn’t for me” but I pursued it and tried to get better and in a couple of years I was in the world championships and then now, a few years on, I’m where I am now - winning Grand Prix’s, it’s been a very fast track, I suppose from the bad injury I’ve got to where I am now, which is a fantastic position.
Ouch! So did that put your career on the back burner for a while?
I don’t think so, I think it opened different pathways for me, I do believe that if I stuck at Motocross I would still be in the World Championships but I wouldn’t be in the position that I am now. I do believe that this is a great place to be and I feel very privileged to be here and that’s a great thing for me.
So what’s the next step for you then?
It would be Motor 2 which is the equivalent of a 250 next year so I would be in the middle class. This is my forth year now so it’s time to move up and make a step.
So how do you think you’ll do in the next class up?
Hopefully good! I hope that my riding style or my technique is better suited to a better bike, I’m not 100% sure that the way I feel and ride the bike is suited to the 125cc, even though I’ve adapted to it, I do believe that getting on a bigger bike with more power will be better for me.
That’s one thing I was going to say about your style, It is very controlled and suited to a lighter bike, but you obviously you have to be very fit to drag a bike like that around when it wants to go in a straight line and you want it to get into the corners, what do you do to keep your fitness up?
I have to work hard! I really didn’t start training until 2004, taking things seriously really came in 2005 and my training is very triathlon based so I do a run and swimming and cycling are the two main things I do, simply because they are non-impact and impact sport does take a toll on your body and when we have such a long season, we can’t afford for any injury, especially in the feet or knees because they are so vital.
I’ve actually done a couple of triathlon races during the season which take my mind away from this habit, which a bit nice because I can focus on something else for once! To be honest, we don’t do that much weight training in the 125’s, simply because you have a weight limit you need to keep to and you don’t want to give too much of an advantage to someone else! I have to work hard this year to get a little bit more muscle and strength for the bigger bikes next year though!
So what about socialising, can you go and sink a couple of beers?
Haha, it is a very dedicated life… some people take it less seriously than others though…
Good answer! When do you think you will reach the pinnacle of what you can achieve?
Well. It’s going to be difficult, I think it’s going to be at least another three or four years before we start looking at things. Obviously the ambition is to get there, but I’m still only 23 so I’m still young enough to have a great crack at this, I’m in no rush and really it all depends on results, it’s not just going to come to me, I need to get great results and work hard from the word go.
When you’re around your rivals in your class, who do you see as a threat?
My team mate Julian Simon! He does seem to be the one at the moment who is making their bike work no matter what the condition or setting, he just makes it work from the beginning and he’s doing a fantastic job. The good thing is that I’ve got him in my garage so I can check his data and see where I’m losing the time.
So as a team you still work together?
Yeah, everything is open! We still are firmly together and everyone is working very hard and I think that’s one thing that makes our team so successful. Our boss doesn’t want one rider to be good, he wants all three riders to be good.
Who do you look up to as a rider?
Obviously there’s no-one better than Valentino Rossi!
