Smith upbeat despite Jerez disappointment

British teenager Bradley Smith said the positives far outweighed his disappointing result in the Spanish GP last weekend.

The Repsol Honda rider was running in eighth place when he was wiped out by Mattia Pasini on the second lap.

Smith remounted to finish 26th but said his performance in Jerez had still bolstered his confidence for the remainder of the 2007 world 125 championship.

The 16-year-old Oxfordshire rider was happy that he finally managed to solve his nightmare starting issue in Jerez.

 “The start was mega. I did 50 practice starts in Valencia and just got the right technique. It’s a big mental barrier out of the way.

“I’d been using too much rpm and the bike wouldn’t drive forward so the engine was just spinning and the bike staying still. It’s a really fine line because too low revs and it will drop off the face of the earth and too high and you don’t go forward.”

He also got a taste of racing at the front of a GP for the first time in Jerez and he added: “I just got to keep positive because now I know I can run with them, so there’ can no excuses anymore.”