Bradley William Smith (born 28 November 1990) is a British motorcycle racer acting as a test-rider for the official BMW Motorrad WorldSBK factory team in World Superbikes.
Smith was linked to RNF E-Racing in MotoE for 2022. He was injured shortly after a Le Mans start at an FIM Endurance World Championship event in April 2022 when opening for team Moto Ain Yamaha. He missed the opening three rounds of the MotoE racing season, being declared unfit to race at the third round at Mugello on 29 May 2022.
Late in 2022, Smith was called-in to ride as a rookie in the World Supersport Championship class, to replace injured Leonardo Taccini. Smith finished 14th after a three-place penalty in the first race at Circuito San Juan Villicum (Argentina), but was taken out when Luca Bernardi crashed into the rear of his Ten Kate Yamaha R6 at turn one early in the second race.
Smith was previously contracted from 2019 to Aprilia Racing as a development/test/replacement rider in the MotoGP class of the World Championship.
Smith was also contracted as a development officer, "to assist with rider recruitment and development" in the inaugural eSkootr Championship race series planned for 2022. During 2021 he was expected to participate in a British GP2 event, part of a series run alongside the British Supersport championship, for a one-off ride at Snetterton but failed to arrive at the circuit, instead competing in moto cross event.
Smith is the only rider to have taken a podium in all four classes of Grand Prix motorcycle racing, with top-three finishes in the pre-Moto3 125 cc class, Moto2 class, MotoGP class and MotoE World Cup.
Smith had a long association with the French Tech3 team, riding for six seasons, two in Moto2 class and four in MotoGP using factory-supported Yamaha YZR-M1 machines. He won the Suzuka 8 Hours in 2015, with Yamaha teammates Katsuyuki Nakasuga and Pol Espargaró.
Born in Oxford, Oxfordshire, Smith's father raced in Motocross, and the family owned an open practice track. Smith got his first motocross bike aged six.
Smith applied for selection to the Auto-Cycle Union (ACU) academy for young racers, but was never chosen. He spent a year in 2004 aged 13 competing in Aprilia Superteens competition, finishing fourth behind three ACU Academy riders. In January 2005, he was asked to compete for the year in the Spanish 125cc championship as part of the MOTO GP Academy, winning the last three races ending the year second just one point behind the champion.
For 2006, Smith joined the Repsol Honda 125cc Grand Prix World Championship squad, managed by Alberto Puig finishing 19th overall and rookie of the year, with a best result of 8th place in Motegi.
Remaining with the team in 2007, Smith took a first podium with third place at Le Mans. Nine more top-10 finishes left him 10th overall.
Smith signed with the Polaris World Aprilia team for the 2008 season. He secured his first pole position at the opening round of the season at the Losail International Circuit in Qatar on 8 March, but suffered a technical problem while leading. A number of midseason injuries affected him, but he scored podium finishes at Jerez and Le Mans (after briefly leading the five-lap sprint required by a red flag for rain). He led at both Assen and Sachsenring, but finished off the podium in both. He ended the season sixth overall, with three poles and four podium finishes but no victory.
For the 2009 season, Smith signed for Jorge Martínez's Bancaja Aspar Team to continue to ride an Aprilia, alongside Julian Simon. The deal also included an option to race in 250s for the team in 2010. Smith had almost signed for the team in 2008, before signing for Polarisworld.
Smith won his first ever Grand Prix with a dominant performance at Jerez in May 2009. Smith's first Pole Position of the season came at Mugello in which he scored his second Grand Prix victory after a brilliant fight against Nicolás Terol and Julian Simon. This race put Smith in the lead of the Championship with 74.5 points, just 3.5 points ahead of Simon. However, Simon hit form and ultimately won the title. Smith finished second to his teammate in the last three races of the season, losing the lead on the final lap in two of them. He ultimately finished as series runner-up.
In August 2009, Smith stated his ambition to move up to the new Moto2 class with the Aspar team, but the team's two seats were given to Julian Simon and Mike Di Meglio instead. In November 2009, Smith agreed a deal to remain with the Aspar team in the 125cc class for 2010 alongside Nicolas Terol.
Smith was a favourite for the title in 2010, after finishing runner-up in 2009, however the year was dominated by Spanish trio Marc Márquez, Pol Espargaró and Nicolás Terol. Smith did however manage three pole positions and six podiums, including a win at the final round of the season in Valencia on the way to fourth place in championship standings.
After the 2010 Portuguese Grand Prix, it was announced that Smith would be competing in Moto2 in 2011, racing for the Tech3 team, alongside one of the riders that had denied him a Moto2 move a year previous, Mike Di Meglio. On 19 September 2011, it was announced that Smith had signed a three-year contract with Tech 3 that would see him remain in Moto2 in 2012, before moving to MotoGP in 2013.
Smith started his debut campaign in the Moto2 class well with seventh in his first race before following it up with a fourth-place finish at the Spanish Grand Prix. Smith scored his first podium with a second-place finish in his home Grand Prix at Silverstone, and he followed it up with two third-place finishes at the next two rounds. Smith finished his début season in the class, in seventh place in the final championship standings.