OXFORDSHIRE’S Bradley Smith could not hide his satisfaction after finishing fifth in yesterday’s Catalunya Moto GP.

The result saw the Monster Yamaha Tech3 rider cut the gap to Marc Marquez, who lies fifth in the championship standings, to a point.

Starting eighth on the grid, he charged up to fifth and became involved in a tussle with Andrea Iannone before he was shuffled back to sixth.

But he battled back to cross the line fifth to equal his best finish of the season in a race won by Jorge Lorenzo.

“Fifth place is a fantastic result for us after what was a tricky weekend,” said Smith.

“The team did a superb job and we worked non-stop every day to try and make a setting that we could use for the race.

“But maybe it was ultra conservative and it hampered me a little.

“Yet, it meant that I had a lot of feeling in the front which resulted in me knowing whether it was going to tuck or not and this was useful as we saw a few guys lose the front.

“However, I still managed to adapt to it in the first three laps and then I got into my rhythm.

“In all honesty, the pace was slow, but it was the best that I could do and in the end, consistency is key."

He added: “We have a test today and I plan to work hard with the team so we can improve the bike for Assen.”