MotoGP newboy Bradley Smith got his 2013 testing schedule underway at the Qatar International Championships last weekend, taking a second place behind Anthony West at Doha.

Smith, riding a Yamaha R1, started from the second row of the grid and it took him some laps to get into a rhythm but by lap seven he managed to close down West and Alex Cudlin who were leading, passing Cudlin for second spot. He retired in race two.

"I had some clutch problems and my start was not good. I made a mistake in the first laps and I ran off the track so I lost time. Then I had a good battle with Alex and I had hoped to resolve the problems with the clutch and be closer to West in second race," said Smith.