Bradley Smith urged to study Stefan Bradl’s MotoGP switch

Bradley Smith should closely study the approach taken by German Stefan Bradl in 2012 to help him become an instant success in MotoGP next season.

Bradl has been the revelation of this season having quickly mastered the switch from Moto2 to the more powerful and technology laden MotoGP bikes.

The LCR Honda rider has scored six top six finishes including a season best fourth when he missed the podium by just 0.046s in Mugello.

Smith is preparing to take the same huge leap of faith from Moto2 to MotoGP after his switch to partner Cal Crutchlow in the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 squad in 2013 was confirmed in Brno last month.

And Tech 3 boss Herve Poncharal said Smith should model himself on Bradl, who should now be the reference for all Moto2 riders moving up to take on the likes of Jorge Lorenzo and Valentino Rossi.

Poncharal said: “Bradl is the best example of how to approach the challenge. He never touched a MotoGP bike until the Valencia test and look where he is now. He only just missed the podium in Mugello and the way he has gone about it is how Bradley should look and understand.

“Bradl is quiet and he is never excited. He stays calm. He never pushes over the limit or makes crazy statements in the media that his team or manufacturer does not support him. He just works with his team and gets on with the job. I hope Bradley will look at that.

“He has got plenty of time to show his potential with a two-year deal and nobody is expecting anything. It was the same for Bradl and now he is in a really good position for the future.”