Oxfordshire's Bradley Smith came a superb sixth in the Aunstralian Moto GP at Philip Island, equalling his best ever finish at this level.
The Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team rider got a stunning launch off the line and on the first lap he’d surged into fourth and was right on the back of leading Spanish trio Jorge Lorenzo, Marc Marquez and Dani Pedrosa.
Smith gained precious experience after dicing it out with Rossi and teammate Cal Crutchlow and in the early stages and was able to comfortably clinch a top-six finish in a race won by Jorge Lorenzo.
Championship leader Marc Marquez was disqualified.
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