"Bradley Smith's long awaited first test on the Polaris World Aprilia was a real eye opener for the 16 year-old rider. The Oxford-based teenager completed 56 laps of the Jerez grand prix circuit in Southern Spain yesterday and despite a crash late in the afternoon was delighted with his progress on the grand prix winning 125cc machine.

“The power of the machine was awesome and very different to the bike I've been riding this year,” revealed Smith, who finished tenth in this year's 17 round 125cc World Championship. “It was a case of finding out as much as I could about the bike and just finding my way. The crash at the fast second right hand bend at the back of the pits came late in the session and I just scraped my arm and hand. The new team have been fantastic and are really interested in what I have to say when I come in. We have already gelled very well and I'm so pleased to be working with them and despite the crash, I'm very confident about the future tests.”

Smith finished a very impressive fourth fastest after the first day, less than one second slower than Hungarian World Champion Gabor Talmacsi."


The pic is by Friedrick Weisse by the way and words by the venerable Nick Harris.