Monster Yamaha Tech 3 rider Bradley Smith has already got one year under his belt in MotoGP, but now he is upping his game going into the new season. He is staying with Herve Poncharal’s team and already has the top six as his target for 2015.

Smith ended the year inside the top ten, in eighth but he is not dwelling on the past and is concentrating on the next MotoGP test in Sepang in February. He has already got one testing session under his belt at Valencia, but now finding a solid base setting, being consistent and being the fastest rider on a satellite bike are his main aims for next year – and also to beat fellow Brits Scott Redding and Cal Crutchlow.

“It has been a crazy year and I have been inside the team for four years and this is my second now in MotoGP. We have already started testing the new bike in Valencia and we had the factory bike from Valentino and Jorge which had quite a few different bits with it. There was a new chassis, swinging-arm, front folks, rear shots, tank, seat – so a lot to get used to but I was happy from the first run and I felt more at home on that bike than on my old bike,” said Smith, speaking to bikesportnews.com.

“In 2015 we have to battle for the top six and to be the top satellite rider and battle with Cal and Scott too. Race wins probably wont happen next year, but podiums could come and I will be rooting for another podium, as I enjoyed the first one.

“For the next test in Sepang I want to gain a good base setting and to do as many laps as I can, I also want to learn how to be consistent in all races, as well as learning to keep tyre performance and learning to ride fast on a full fuel tank. The racing is so close in MotoGP and the first five laps are so important. In MotoGP there is no one place to look at on the bike – it is a case of refining all the small details.”