Sepang MotoGP: Bradley Smith to ride with broken foot

British teenager Bradley Smith will brave the pain of a small break in his right foot to fight for a third 125GP victory in Malaysia tomorrow.

Smith confirmed he had broken his fifth metatarsal after a massive high-side crash in the closing stages of today’s qualifying session. 

The 18-year-old was lying in second position and trying to close the gap on leader Marc Marquez when he lost control at the final corner.

He needed lengthy treatment in the Sepang circuit medical centre before X-rays revealed the damage to his right foot.

But the Aspar Aprilia rider will brave the pain and compete in tomorrow’s penultimate race.

He said: “The crash was totally unexpected. I was riding hard because I knew I had a chance of setting pole and just before the end of the session the bike threw me out of my seat coming out of the final corner.

“It was a shame because it meant we couldn’t improve any further although third place on the grid isn’t a bad start. The doctors say I have a small fracture of the fifth metatarsal on my right foot but that won’t stop me from racing tomorrow.

“I’ll strap it up for warm-up and see how it feels but if it’s too painful I’ll have an injection and I’ll be fine. Our pace is good enough to fight for the win so I hope a little incident like this doesn’t prove to be a handicap.”