Britain's Bradley Smith has targeted stealing fifth place in the MotoGP standings from Ducati's Andrea Dovizioso at this weekend's Misano round right in the Italian's back garden.
Smith is just five points behind Dovizioso, who lives just 60 kilometres from the circuit, and is on a roll of finishes that have seen him extend his lead over Monster Yamaha team-mate and next best satellite rider Pol Espargaro to 34 points.
"Next up for the MotoGP paddock is Misano, which is a GP that I always really enjoy riding at and I am certain that we can conclude the weekend positively on Sunday. It was a bit of a tough race at Silverstone, but I gave my absolute all for my home fans and overall the finish was not too bad, plus the experience certainly has raised my confidence with riding in the wet," said Smith.
"In the past, I have scored a few podiums at Misano in the 125cc class so I have some happy memories and these will spur me on to get a good result. Plus, I am only five points from Dovizioso in the championship standings, which makes me even more determined to push hard. The track has recently been resurfaced which is positive, yet we will start with a slight disadvantage as Ducati and a few other teams tested there recently. However, we will take everything step by step in order to clinch a solid grid position on Saturday after working on the best possible setup for Sunday as I want to be able to do a top job."
