BRADLEY Smith says he is heading into the third round of the MotoGP season at Austin, Texas, in a confident mood.

The 25-year-old, from Forest Hill, near Oxford, has started his campaign with successive eighth place finishes.

Despite admitting he has lessons to learn from Argentina last week, Smith is upbeat ahead of the race.

The Monster Yamaha Tech 3 rider said: “In Argentina, we took a gamble with a setting that we had never used before and which didn’t work really well for us.

“The ambition is to be the top independent rider on Sunday, which I achieved last year, therefore I’m confident and looking forward to hitting the asphalt.”