Home & Away for British Riders - Aperol Grand Prix of Catalunya 2011
Posted on May 31, 2011 by Nick Harris
With one notable exception it’s almost like going home for the British riders competing in the Aperol Grand Prix of Catalunya in Barcelona on Sunday. The majority of them raced in the Spanish Championship and the Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup before moving onto the grand prix stage.
That notable exception is Cal Crutchlow who makes his Barcelona debut in the MotoGP race at the Circuit de Catalunya.
The same cannot me said for the remaining British riders. Bradley Smith returns to the City where he was based as a youngster and to the circuit where he finished second in the 125 cc race last year. The 20 year old Oxfordshire rider has made the switch to Moto2 with great ease and currently lies eighth in the World Championship. Last year his Tech3 team won the Moto2 race with Yuki Takahashi as Smith chases his first Moto2 podium finish.
Bradley Smith
“The ankle I injured in Le Mans is much stronger and was fine at the two day test we had in Aragon last week. We learnt a lot about the bike in the test which should be a great help in Barcelona and the next few races. My aim is to close the gap on that leading group because at the moment despite the great start to the season I’m a second group rider. I love going to Barcelona where I spent so much time when I started out. I finished second in the 125 cc race last year and Tech 3 won the Moto2 race which is a good start.”
The MotoGP season hits its peak with six races in the next eight weeks starting with the fifth round, the Aperol Grand Prix of Catalunya in Barcelona on Sunday. It’s a great time to be in the Mediterranean City following their success in the Champions League Football final and just two weeks after the Formula One Grand prix at the Circuit de Catalunya.
EVENT TIME SCHEDULE
Friday 3 June
09.15 – 09.55 125cc Free Practice 1
10.10 – 10.55 MotoGP Free Practice 1
11.10 – 11.55 Moto2 Free Practice 1
13.15 – 13.55 125cc Free Practice 2
14.10 – 14.55 MotoGP Free Practice 2
15.10 – 15.55 Moto2 Free Practice 2
Saturday 4 June
09.15 – 09.55 125cc Free Practice 3
10.10 – 10.55 MotoGP Free Practice 3
11.10 – 11.55 Moto2 Free Practice 3
13.00 – 13.40 125cc Qualifying Practice
13.55 – 14.55 MotoGP Qualifying Practice
15.10 – 15.55 Moto2 Qualifying Practice
Sunday 5 June
08.40 – 09.00 125cc Warm Up
09.10 – 09.30 Moto2 Warm Up
09.40 – 10.00 MotoGP Warm Up
11.00 125cc RACE (22 laps)
12.15 Moto2 RACE (23 laps)
14.00 MotoGP RACE (25 laps)
Schedule is local time
Time Zone: GMT + 2 hours
TELEVISION TIMES
Practice, qualifying and the races will be shown at the following times on British television:
BBC
Saturday 4 June
11.50 – 15.00 MotoGP Qualifying Red Button/Online
Sunday 5 June
09.50 – 12.05 125cc & Moto2 Race BBC Red Button/Online LIVE
12.30 – 14.00 MotoGP Race BBC 2/Online LIVE
BRITISH EUROSPORT 2
Friday 3 June
12.10 – 15.00 Live Free Practice 125cc, MotoGP, Moto2
Saturday 4 June
11.55 – 15.10 Live Qualifying 125cc, Moto2, MotoGP
Sunday 5 June
09.45 125cc Race Live
11.15 Moto2 Race Live
14.00 MotoGP Action