MECTECH Motorsports hope a day’s testing at Brands Hatch will pay dividends for driver Bradley Smith.

The 21-year-old Ramsden Bellhouse driver made a solid start to his 2012 Radical Clubman Cup campaign at the weekend with third and fourth placed finishes.

But the team is convinced they can improve the Radical SR3 car with a shakedown at the Kent circuit will pay dividends ahead of the next rounds of the championship next month.

“We are very pleased with both Bradley and the car’s performance,” said Mike Smith, who runs the team with his son.

“But we know we can get a lot more out of them, which is why we will be spending a day at Brands Hatch on April 11 testing.

“It’s an open pitlane so we will leave Bradley in the car all day and we are hoping to make a significant improvement with weight distribution.”

Smith qualified fifth for the opening race on the 300 circuit at Snetterton and dropped to sixth on the first lap before moving up the field on laps four and seven to finish fourth, 21.607 seconds behind pole sitter and race winner Matt Bell.

The second race was better for Doddinghurst-based Mectech as Smith qualified third.

Again the top three dropped a place after a quick start by Martin Brooks in his Radical PR6, which was quicker on the Norfolk track’s longer straights.

But Brooks retired after suffering mechanical failure on lap seven to allow the SR3 drivers through. Smith claimed the third step on the podium after finishing 5.880 seconds adrift of Bell.

“Compared to where we were at the start of last season, it was a great result,” added Mike. “But we were disappointed because we know we could have done better.

“The PR6 cars are slightly smaller and less aerodynamic than our SR3 but they are a bit faster in a straight line, so Snetterton suited them and Bradley got a bit held up.

“By the time he got past them he was too much adrift. But overall we are very pleased because in the second race we finished behind what are effectively two professional teams.”

Smith gets back into a kart for the first time in around 18 months this weekend in preparation for racing in the Belgian National Championship in Genk the following weekend.

He will be driving for the Belgian SFP team in a new Formula K chassis before returning to Radical Cup action at Donington on April 27.

Mectech’s cadet kart drivers Bethany Abbott and Yukinori Ishii, who has received sponsorship from Japanese oil giant Eneos, will be testing this weekend before the start of the Formula Kart Stars Champion-ship. And junior drivers Anthony Ayres from Wickford will join fellow Essex duo William Stacey and Samuel Cromwell for testing at Kent’s Bayford Meadows.