BRADLEY Smith stayed out of trouble to finish in the points at the Austrian MotoGP.

The rider from Forest Hill came home 14th, three places behind Aprilia teammate Aleix Espargaro.

But it was only after a long afternoon which saw the first red-flagged after eight laps following a nasty collision between Johann Zarco and Franco Morbidelli.

Thankfully both riders escaped without major injuries, but the Grand Prix had to be stopped while the debris was cleared up.

A second race was then held, shortened to 20 laps.

Smith was quick off the line both times, getting into the top ten on the restart before settling down.

He said: “I had two great starts and I am very pleased about that.

“The second race definitely went better, although towards the end I had to manage tyre wear and fuel a bit and that kept me from holding onto my advantage over (Michele) Pirro and (Alex) Marquez.

“Overall it was a solid weekend, where we took some steps in the right direction, including in the race.”

Smith might have fared even better if he had a spare set of unused soft tyres.

“It was a pity not to be able to use a new tyre for the second start, like other riders did,” the 29-year-old said.

“I wanted to stay with the soft, but I didn’t have any others available.

“We need to keep working hard because in warm-up, the bike gave me the right feeling.

“It would be a step forward if we could manage to maintain that feeling in the afternoon with the higher temperatures too.”

Andrea Dovizioso won at the Red Bull Ring, which also hosts the next round on Sunday.