The Commercialbank Grand Prix of Qatar was unable to issue the beginning of the 2010 year that Bradley Smith would have liked with eighth spot, however the 2009 125cc World Championship runner up claimed a positive approach securing points due to testing circumstances.

The Bancaja Aspar competitor had problems with his Aprilia's set up over the weekend, facing struggles he and his squad worked hard to fix. Following a good beginning from third row of the grid, Smith was able to end with points and attempting to build on that when the 125cc racers group again for round two at Motegi on April 25th.

"It is disappointing to be riding at the limit and only have the chance of eighth place. That's the situation we found ourselves in though this weekend,” says Smith. “The team worked incredibly hard over the weekend to try and best prepare my bike for the race, despite some problems, but it just wasn't competitive enough to be up there with the lead group.”

Eighth place is not completely satisfying for a racer who challenged the title last year, however Smith was content to be able to secure crucial points.

“We have to be content, because it was a tricky weekend and we've still got eight points from the race,” he explains. “Eighth isn't a position I'd like to be in too often, but it's the first race of the year and we have to continue working in an optimistic fashion in order to be as fast as we were last year."