BRADLEY Smith had plenty of reasons to be positive after a rain-soaked Japanese MotoGP.

The Forest Hill rider qualified an impressive seventh for the Red Bull KTM Factory Racing Team, but suffered in the torrential conditions to finish 17th.

With no previous track time at Motegi and limited miles in the wet, the Austrian outfit were always likely to find life difficult.

Smith said: “They were tricky conditions out there with a lot of water, kind of similar to what we had in Misano (a tenth-place finish), but here it just kept on raining.

“I went back a bit from, but I was seventh on the grid!

“We have had many positives from the wet laps here to take forward to Phillip Island and Sepang, particularly if it rains there.

“I’m happy with the overall weekend.”