Valencia win puts Smith on GP alert.

Fifteen-year-old British schoolboy Bradley Smith is on the brink of a grand prix career after an impressive victory in the penultimate round of the CEV Buckler 125cc Spanish Championship in Valencia on Sunday (pictured).

Valencia win puts Smith on GP alert.

Fifteen-year-old British schoolboy Bradley Smith is on the brink of a grand prix career after an impressive victory in the penultimate round of the CEV Buckler 125cc Spanish Championship in Valencia on Sunday (pictured).

The highly competitive Spanish Championship is regarded as the main stepping stone into grand prix racing - and the Oxfordshire teenager has now won the last two rounds, riding a 125cc Honda.

Smith, who has special permission to race in Spain from his school, led the Valencia race on a wet track from the first lap and at the finish held a three-second advantage over Spanish riders Pol Espargaro and Esteve Rabat.

In the dry on Saturday he'd qualified second fastest behind only newly crowned 125cc World Champion Thomas Luthi, who did not take part in the race.

"It was really tough leading the race for 35-minutes and having to concentrate so hard. Perhaps I was lucky other people crashed out but I just kept focused," explained Smith, who competes in the final round of the Championship in Jerez this Sunday.

"I was second in dry qualifying on Saturday but in the wet warm-up for the race on Sunday morning I was only 26th but I made a good start from the front row in the race. When the leader crashed in front of me before the end of the first lap, I took the lead and kept a good advantage at the front," he added.

Smith had already won the previous round at Albacete and also a round of the British Championship at Oulton Park.

Bradley is a member of the MotoGP Academy, which has been set up by Dorna Sports - rights holders and organisers of the MotoGP World Championship - to give promising young riders the chance to compete in the Spanish Championship and to receive help and advice about competing in grand prix racing.

They are coached by former grand prix star Alberto Puig, who has already overseen the spectacular career of triple world champion Dani Pedrosa.

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