Bradley Smith rode through the pain barrier to finish an excellent fifth in the Alice Grand Prix of Italy in Mugello yesterday.

Smith, 17, riding with a broken bone in his left foot and a badly sprained right wrist following a crash in qualifying, led an epic 125cc race going into the last lap.

He was mugged by a group of four going into the first bend of that last lap and finally finished a brave fifth.

"The broken toe was no problem, but my right hand was very swollen and my fingers bruised after that big slap in qualifying," explained Smith, who only was given permission to race just before the morning warm-up.

"I dug deep with every single bit of energy I could find to compensate for the hand.

"I felt comfortable on the tyres, but was having problems slipstreaming on the long straight and so I made my move before the last lap."

The race was won by Italian Simone Corsi.