Second row for Smith in Misano

Posted on Sep 03, 2011 by Tech3 Racing

Bradley Smith will start tomorrow's Moto2 race at the Misano circuit from the second row of the grid after he produced another impressive qualifying performance in scorching hot conditions.

Temperatures reached an energy-sapping 31 degrees but Smith once again showed the high potential of the Mistral 610 machine with another challenge for the front row of the grid.

The 20-year-old, who scored a fantastic fourth place in searing heat at the legendary Indianapolis Motor Speedway just six days ago, finished with a best time of 1.38.535.

That hot pace was almost a second under the Moto2 lap record on the 2.626 miles circuit with Smith, who is locked in an exciting fight for third place in the World Championship, ending less than 0.2s away from the front row.

Bradley Smith 6th 1.38.535 – 21 laps:
"I am in sixth position and that is a very positive result for the Tech 3 Racing Team. We have worked really hard all weekend and always been around the top 10, so to qualify on the second row is an incredible result for me. The track is very narrow here, so it is important to get a good start and get a couple of good first laps to put myself in contention for the podium right from the beginning. For sure it will be a hard and hot race tomorrow and it will be very important to keep the concentration all of the time. But conditions were very hot in Indianapolis and I finished just off the podium, so I've no worries. We need to find some small improvements in the warm-up but I am confident I can deliver another good result in the race."