British youngster aims to reign in Spain

Oxfordshire-based Smith moved up from 11th on the starting grid to finish eighth in the Alice Grand Prix of Italy at Mugello on Sunday.

And the 16-year-old's achievement was all the more commendable as his Repsol Honda 125cc machine was patently down on power compared with the Aprilia machine of race winner and current world championship leader Hector Faubel.

But, heading into Thursday's practice for the championship's seventh round at the 2.9-mile Circuit de Catalunya near Barcelona, Smith, lying eighth in the overall standings, was confident of an improved showing.

He said: "It may not have been a great result for me at Mugello, but you have to finish the race to take the points and that is what I did.

"I made too many mistakes during the opening laps at Mugello and the group escaped, but I made a good start off the grid and that is something positive.

"I found a good race pace and my lap times were similar to the front-runners, so that is positive as well."

In MotoGP action, Italy's Valentino Rossi will be out to regain first place in the rankings following victory on home turf last time out.

Rossi, a five-time world champion in motorcycling's premier class, currently lies second overall but only nine points behind Ducati Marlboro's Casey Stoner.

And, fresh from his Mugello win, Rossi, of Fiat Yamaha, said: "Barcelona is always a great race for me and I have won there the last three years with Yamaha, so, hopefully, we can do it again.

"I got a fantastic reception when I won the race at Jerez earlier in the season, so, hopefully, I can start the same kind of party in Barcelona.

"Dani Pedrosa will have a lot of support this weekend and I expect him to be a difficult rival once again after such a good race at Mugello.

"Stoner will be strong, especially down the long straight, but Yamaha and Michelin have worked really hard to close the gap on our rivals and I think we are ready to battle with them at every track now.

"After Mugello, we have three more races at three of my favourite tracks, so, hopefully, we can continue with the good progress we have made recently and be back on top of the podium again," said Rossi.

Novice rider Eugene Laverty will fly the flag for Ireland in the 250cc race, although he has plenty of work ahead if his LCR Honda machine is to become competitive.

The 21-year-old from Ballymena currently lies second-bottom of the rankings, having finished just two races and picked up three points.

Spaniard Jorge Lorenzo leads the standings by 27 points from Italy's Andrea Dovisioso.