BRADLEY Smith is raring to see if his KTM can push on towards the front of the grid when the MotoGP season starts this weekend.

The rider from Forest Hill begins his sixth campaign among the world’s best at Qatar’s Losail International Circuit on Sunday.

Smith has been encouraged by the amount of testing the team have been able to get under their belts during the winter as they look to make strides in 2018.

He said: “I’m back to normal and back to feeling comfortable, making progress and gaining confidence.

“We managed 14 days of testing this winter – so lots of laps, understanding and improvement.

“Of course the process never finishes. We were improving in every test and that’s all we can ask for.”

Smith was 17th in the opener at Qatar last year, in what was KTM’s first race in the premier class.

The learning curve was always going to be steep as a result, with the Oxfordshire rider claiming top-ten finishes at San Marino and Australia towards the end of the year.

Expectations for the 27-year-old and teammate Pol Espargaro are higher this time around, ahead of the season’s first practice session tomorrow.

The aim of the Austrian manufacturer will be to pick up where they ended up in the final races of 2017 and continue to develop, although Smith acknowledges that is not guaranteed.

He said: “It is exciting starting the season in this shape. If we put everything together then we can start where we left off – and that is not ‘a given’ as everyone else has been working.

“What a story it would be to take this bike from those positions in Qatar last year to a podium or maybe a win.

“We believe in everyone around this project and they also believe in us.”

Mike Leitner, KTM’s team manager, said: “This winter we did a lot of work, and the rider feedback was good with the direction we have taken.

“The competition will not be sleeping, so we will see where we are in these first races.

“If everything goes in a good way for us then we can start where we finished 2017 and then the riders can push.”