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Sep 08 - Donington World Supersport..

What a tough race! This weekend proved to be a lot harder than Brands Hatch. With every session being wet, we needed as much time setting the bike up as possible. We struggled with the suspension being too hard, and with a lack of time on track due to my #1 bike blowing up, we was always a step behind. By morning warm-up we had the bike turning really well. In sectors 1 and 2, I was top 10, and sector 3 letting us down, through the slow chicanes and hairpins. This was because I'm new to the traction control system on the bike and still getting used to trusting the electronics. The race was the first dry session all weekend, and being only the second meeting I've ridden the bike we had a wild guess at some settings. To add to the drama, Miguel Praia crashed on the first lap and knocked me off the track, which stopped any chances of me scoring points, as I was making progress through the feild. I got back on the track in last position and rode as hard as I could to catch any slower riders and finished 23rd. 

Midge Smart will be hoping to uphold British honour in this weekends SuperSport race at Donington, after the tragic loss of compatriot and best friend Craig Jones at Brands Hatch a month ago. Donington will be an emotional race for Smart. "Craig was my best mate, we saw each other most days, whether it be riding dirt bikes, training or just getting lunch, we were always in contact. It’s been such a sad loss for his family and  friends - he will never be forgotten.” “We’d be honoured for Midge to  race in Craig’s memory at Donington, said Steve Jones, Craig's father. "He was  one of Craig’s closest friends, not only in racing, but in everyday life - we  wish him all the best.” Smart will be riding for the CRS Grand Prix Honda squad at Donington Park after scoring a solid 17th Position in his debut World Supersport Race for the squad at Brands Hatch. After a season of ups and downs due  to lack of funding and injury, Smart is set to make the most of this opportunity. Last year he finished 2nd in the Yamaha R6 cup, and like Xerox Junior Ducati rider Brendan Roberts, he hopes it can be a springboard to the world stage.

"With a small amount of sponsorship I could finish the season in World Supersport, so I'm hoping to get some attention at this round," he said. "Last year in the R6 Cup we had four races at Donington and I won all four, so I’m hopeful of a good result this weekend.” Midge was a wildcard rider at Donington Park in the 125cc class of the MotoGP in ‘02 and ’03 riding for the Red Bull Rookies Team. After finishing 4th in ’02 and 3rd in the ’03 British 125 Championship with Red Bull Rookies, Smart went on to win the New Zealand 125 Championship twice in ’04 and ’05 as well as competing in the Spanish 125 Championship. He moved in ’06 to to the 600cc class in the Virgin Media Cup, where after a year's apprenticeship, he finished second overall in 2007.

Aug 08 - World Supersport..

Tuesday afternoon, before Brands Hatch World Superbike weekend, I got a phone call to see if I was interested in riding in the World Supersport as a Wildcard.. My obvious answer was yes! After rushing around to get a race licence for a World event, and insurance etc, I got all my stuff together and left home the following morning. After meeting the Italian CRS Honda team, I was excited about racing. Considering I'd never ridden a Honda, or a 600 since I knocked myself out at Snetterton, the team and I were pleased with my result. After Qualifying 29th, and finishing the race in 17th we were all pretty happy. I am hoping I can do some more riding with the CRS Honda team for more of the World Supersport Championship.

Jul 08 - Wylie & Holland..

I'm sad to have to say that riding with the Team will possibly be for no longer. As the Team, and myself have stretched our budgets the max to compete so far this year, we can no longer put any more funding into the season. Due to lack of Sponsorship I will be a spectator for the rest of the season, unless we can find some funding, or another ride becomes available. :(

Jun 08 - Crashing!..

Just a quick thankyou to everyone that has been emailing me about my recent crash at Snetterton. I've received dozens of emails from people asking if I'm ok etc so thanks for the concern! Basically all I did was knock myself out for about 5-10 minutes and bruise myself from head to toe! It wasn't such a bad crash but aparently looked a lot worse. I had headaches for a few weeks after, and kept going dizzy and off balance, but am now feeling ok. I have to thank Toby and all the medics and marshals at Snetterton, for doing a great job.

Apr 08 - The British Season..

Coming back to the UK, I had nothing organised for the British series. With a late deal with Team Wylie & Holland, we are set to do some racing in the British Supersport Championship in 2008. A massive thankyou has to go to the team for allowing me to ride their bike this season. Without them supporting me this year I'd be sat on the couch, eating diazepam like a pack of smarties to cure my depression from not racing!!

Dec 07 - The trip to New Zealand..

After organising a ride with Yamaha New Zealand to be their Supersport rider for the 2008 season, we flew down under to test the bike in the first week of arriving. With Team Manager/Chief Mechanic, Dave Cole preparing the bike for me to test at Manfeild Circuit, I was amazed at how good the bike was compared to the 'Road spec' bike I had been racing in the UK. After a successful test we headed to the South Island for the first round of the Championship. The bad luck rolled in fast enough to set us back a few weeks! On only the second day of the new season, a slow crash avoiding other riders ended my title chase. I broke my collarbone into four pieces. Oops!

6 weeks later we were back testing and ready for some racing, for a change. We headed to Manfeild where we managed 3rd in Qualifying, and 2 race wins. An amazing effort from the Team payed off. 2 weeks later was the final round of the Championship. We Qualified 3rd again, with the one race on the Sunday, another win came our way. With 3 wins from 3 races, we were happy with the results, but still a bit disappointed with the bad luck we had at the beginning of the season.