Bradley Smith has done it again.

A fortnight after securing his first Moto2 podium place in the British Grand Prix at Silverstone, the 20-year-old Oxford rider grabbed another top-three finish in the Dutch equivalent at the weekend.

And the result has moved him to a sensational fourth place in the rider’s standings.

Smith, who qualified in tenth, made a flying start in tricky conditions as the unpredictable Assen weather dominated the 24-lap race.

The Tech 3 rider excelled early on, needing just three laps to move from tenth to take the lead.

Smith held off intense pressure from Marc Marquez, Kenan Sofuoglu and Yuki Takahashi until lap ten, by which time rain had started to fall again.

Although he was passed, Smith fought back and briefly regained the lead on lap 18, before Marquez and Sofuoglu overtook him again when Takahashi crashed out of contention a lap later.

Smith then opted to settle for the podium rather than taking any unnecessary risks and the 16 points gained moves him fourth in the world championship rankings, just four points behind Simone Corsi.

“To get that result was absolutely awesome,” Smith said.

“It was really hard work out there because the conditions were so varied you had no idea what to expect from one lap to the next.

“At the start of the race I felt really comfortable, especially on a wet track. But once it started to dry I suffered a little bit.”

He added “When I was at the front and the track was pretty damp, that's when I felt at my best.

“We went very cautious with the set-up making sure we could get full grip if the rain came down.

“When it started to rain again and I knew I had a chance of the podium, I just did the sensible thing and took the 16 points.”

Smith is now hoping for a remarkable hat-trick at next week’s Italian Grand Prix.

“I love Mugello so hopefully I'll be very competitive there next weekend too,” he said.