Most points for KTM MotoGP project so far in 2017 season

Posted on Sep 10, 2017 by Red Bull KTM Factory Racing

Red Bull KTM MotoGP Factory Racing took their biggest points haul from a MotoGP today with a tenth and an eleventh following one of the most treacherous races in recent years after torrential rain since dawn. A score of eleven points has therefore been taken away from the Adriatic coast.

Bradley Smith started 22nd, but found more and more speed as the race progressed and as the rain eased very slightly, he took his first top ten finish for KTM. The result is all the more impressive as his KTM RC16 had only ever previously done nine laps in the wet at this track. Pol Espargaro was just three seconds behind his team mate on a day that didn't quite see his set-up to his liking following the 20 minute wet warm up in the morning.

The team stay at the Misano Circuit for a test tomorrow before moving to Aragón in two weeks time.

Bradley Smith (Factory Rider MotoGP):
"I think the biggest thing today was that if you stay upright you'll get some points, so I tried to play it smart right from the word go. At the start there was so much spray you couldn't see much, plus there was so much standing water but then I felt better and better as the track started to dry and then from mid race I found myself chasing Folger and then Pol so we then had our own little battle and in the final laps. I dropped into the 1m 48 bracket, which was great, to then bring it home for tenth in the end, my first top ten finish. I'm super happy to put it together on a Sunday and although it is a wet race, we now need to put this together in the remaining dry races, but certainly things are going in the right direction. A good day."

Mike Leitner (Team Manager MotoGP):
"We knew that this weather would be difficult for everybody, but both Bradley and Pol had a clever strategy during the race as we had never done any wet laps here until this morning's warm up. It's so easy to be in the gravel in these conditions and I think they really pushed to the max out on the track today. Also huge respect to the guys in the garage as after the warm up there was so much work done in preparation for this wet race but it worked and we came away with the team's best result as a whole to get valuable points in the MotoGP Team Championship. On Bradley's side, Esteban (Garcia) is working well with him and he helped Bradley get this good result."

Next Race: September 24, 2017 – MotorLand Aragon (ESP)