Flying start sees Smith top of the field at Tech3's Home GP 

Posted on May 15, 2015 by Monster Yamaha Tech 3

Monster Yamaha Tech3 rider Bradley Smith delivered a sensational FP2 performance to top the standings at the close of the first day of action at the French Grand Prix. The young Briton kicked off proceedings under bright and sunny weather conditions at the Tech3 team’s home race by finishing the opening session in 10th place with a lap time of 1’34.729. He then burst into action in the overcast afternoon practice before blazing to a superb time of 1’33.179 aboard his Yamaha YZR-M1 on his 18th lap out of 19. This time put him at the head of the field and 0.190 of a second ahead of Jorge Lorenzo. Despite the 23 year old unfortunately falling at turn 13 in the dying moments of the session, his performance today leaves him fully motivated for the race on Sunday.

Bradley Smith: – Position: 1st – Time: 1'33.179 – Laps: 38
"Today was a great start to the weekend and I’m delighted to finish in first on the opening day in Le Mans at the Tech3 team’s home Grand Prix, which is also sponsored by Monster Energy. The team and I did a top job in the Jerez test where we made considerable steps forward with the front forks and the electronic settings. Moreover, we made consistent progress from the word go today and I must say that I feel much more comfortable here when compared to last year which was a tough weekend for me. I unfortunately fell in the final moments of the session but I don’t consider it to be my fault. Aleix went down in front of me so I got distracted and ran wide and then went onto the dirt and rode over a rock which caused the crash. This is annoying, but nevertheless it’s certainly super to finish the opening day at the top of the field and I’m fired up for the rest of the weekend."