BRADLEY Smith admitted his cruel exit from the Catalunya MotoGP was tough to take.

The 27-year-old, from Forest Hill, was wiped out by Takaaki Nakagami with 11 laps to go in Barcelona.

Smith, who qualified 17th, had been eyeing a third successive points finish.

The Red Bull KTM Factory Racing rider made a superb start at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, making up ten places to head into the first corner in seventh.

Smith slipped back to just inside the top-15, before the incident on lap 13.

He did not have a chance as LCR Honda IDEMITSU rider Nakagami lost control of the front of his bike and wiped out the unsuspecting Oxfordshire rider.

Smith, who has yet to secure a contract for next season, cut a frustrated figure.

He said: “It’s a shame what happened and especially because I felt good all weekend.

“The start was amazing and I pushed hard in the first laps to maintain the position.

“I then found my normal pace and rhythm with (teammate) Pol (Espargaro) just inside the points and unfortunately Nakagami crashed and took me out.

“It is hard to finish a race like that after a positive weekend, but we’ll look forward to trying to get our bike ready for Assen.”