Source: Supplied.

Bradley Smith and the Monster Yamaha Tech3 Team are delighted to have reached an agreement that will see the British rider remain with the team for the 2016 season aboard the Yamaha YZR-M1.

The contract extension comes as Smith is currently undertaking his most successful MotoGP season to date, where he has finished no lower than eighth so far.

Furthermore, he stands in fifth position and at the head of the satellite rankings in the championship after some highly impressive performances. Next season will be the British star’s fourth season in the premier class with the Monster Yamaha Tech3 Team and his sixth in total after joining the Tech3 Racing Moto2 Team in 2011.

“Obviously, I am really pleased to be able to continue this journey with the Monster Yamaha Tech3 team and it’s fantastic news to re-sign for another season,” Smith explained. “We will be going into our sixth year together and I must say that it is certainly nice to be giving the guys the results and performances that they deserve at the moment.

“So far in 2015 I have been finishing where we want to be which is very positive, as I’m sure that I am in debt to them for the first two years in the premier class! Everyone in the team has put their faith in me again and we know that 2016 will be tricky due to the changes in regulations, however I am optimistic that this will give the satellite riders more of a chance to be competitive.

“Therefore I am confident about going into next year, as I know that everything will be fairer so we will continue to work together and we fully intend to take our sponsors onto the podium. 2016 will be exciting and I am more than pleased about being able to ride aboard the Yamaha YZR-M1 and with the Monster Yamaha Tech3 team.”

In his first term in MotoGP, Smith finished collecting more points than any other British rookie and he followed that success with another hard fought campaign in 2014 with a personal highlight of a superbly executed podium at Phillip Island.

Furthermore, the Briton was part of this year’s Suzuka 8 hour conquering team with Yamaha Factory Racing who won the elite event after 19 years. Smith will now focus on the remaining rounds in this season and will seek to battle as close as possible to the Factory MotoGP bikes before aiming to challenge for podiums in 2016 aboard the Yamaha YZR-M1.