SUPERMOTO star Phil Smithson is aiming to go top of his class in next year's British Championship.

The former World Enduro front-runner has spent the last two seasons getting acclimatised to the new two-wheeled discipline, but reckons 2007 could be his year.

"It was always a three-year gameplan when I made the switch. To an outsider it's just racing around on a motorbike, but the format and the riding skills are so different, it's almost like starting all over again," explained Smithson, who rides a Husaberg 450 in the SM1 class.

"Supermoto is a combination of track racing and off-road riding on a circuit and each race consists of up to ten laps with at least 30 riders. It's very intense, no holds-barred racing and the slightest mistake is punished with the loss of at least three of four places.

"It's completely different from Enduros, where you race against the clock over huge distances across country and can spend up to eight hours in the saddle."

But after finishing fifth overall in the 2006 British Supermoto Championship, Smithson, who works as an engineer for Callender Aeropart in Altham, is convinced he's on track for an appearance on the podium.

"As the season went on, everything began to click, the qualifying times started to come down, and we started to finish higher up the leaderboard. We had two fifth places at the Three Sister double-header meeting, and got our best result of the year, fourth overall, at the final race of the year at Rowrah.

"As a result, I was invited the Mettet Superbiker meeting in Belgium, a one-off special for top European supermoto riders. It was a fantastic experience, and although suspension problems prevented me from mounting a serious challenge, I thoroughly enjoyed it."

The 2007 season doesn't start until April, leaving Smithson time to prepare his machine for the six rounds that form the championship.

He said: "For the sake of continuity I've decided to keep the same bike for next year, although we will rebuild it from ground up.

"The key is to get a good finish on the opening round and build from there."

l PHIL Smithson is sponsored by: Callender Aeropart; Castrol; Trevon Industrial Finishers, Colne; Science in Sport; Automotive Tools, Read;; Hope Engineering, Barnoldswick; Metal Wood of Great Harwood; Dave Clarke Racing; Sabden Service Station and Chris Cattermole.

2007 British Supermoto Championship dates:1:April 22 Lydd International, Kent, 2.:May 6 Teeside Autodrome, 3: July 1 Rowrah, Cumbria, 4: July 28 Three Sisters, Wigan, 5: July 29 Three Sisters, Wigan, 6: August 11 Teeside Autodrome.