Bradley Smith Interview

Friday 31st July 2009 - 15:11:15

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.