Bradley targets podium from third on the grid

Posted on Oct 02, 2010 by Aspar Press

Three names rung louder than any others around the Motegi public address system during 125cc qualifying this afternoon as Marc Márquez and Bancaja Aspar pair Nico Terol and Bradley Smith dominated proceedings. Terol and Márquez were the only riders able to break into the 1'58s today but Smith is chasing hard and was less than a second behind. On paper the trio are the favourite to fill the podium positions tomorrow but with the weather forecast predicting rain there could be more than the odd surprise.

Neither Terol or Smith have good track records here, with the Spaniard boasting a best result of fifth and the Briton an eighth, although both look on course to set the record straight tomorrow. Despite encountering set-up problems this afternoon Nico qualified second and Bradley third, meaning they will launch their quest for a repeat of the double podium at Aragón two weeks ago from the front row of the grid.

3rd Bradley Smith 1.59.026 (15 laps): "It is always good to be on the front row but I am not completely satisfied today because we didn't find the stability we were hoping for this afternoon. Things were better this morning but we didn't find the set-up we were looking for in the afternoon and we ran out of time. This is a demanding circuit and it is easy to lose vital tenths in a lot of places if you are not fully focused. I am a little but annoyed because I would have liked to improve more but we didn't manage it. We have to work hard tomorrow morning to try and make some progress. Third place isn't a bad result, we have to be satisfied with that but we are a second off pole so we need to close the gap."