Smith continues his battle in Aragon - Grand Prix of Aragon

Posted on Sep 12, 2011 by Nick Harris

British Moto2 stars Bradley Smith and Scott Redding continue their rivalry at the Grand Prix of Aragon in Spain on Sunday. At the last two grands prix at Indianapolis and Misano the two grand prix winners fought head to head for vital points and the tussle is certain to continue at the 3.155 mile Motorland Aragon circuit on Sunday.

Smith, who finished fourth in front of Redding at Indianapolis and sixth behind him in Misano, still has a real chance of finishing third on his debut Moto2 season. The Tech3 rider is fifth in the Championship just ten points behind third placed Italian Andrea Iannone who won the race last year. Last year Smith was on the Aragon 125 cc podium after finishing third while Redding, riding the Marc VDS Suter, was eighth in the Moto2 race.

Bradley Smith
“It was great to finish high in the points at the last two races after crashing out of the previous two. I have a chance of finishing third in the Championship and will be chasing a podium finish at Aragon where I finished third in the 125 cc race last year.”

The Moto2 World Championship outcome could go all the way to the wire. Eighteen year old Spaniard Marc Marquez is on fire and after winning five of the last six races is now just 23 points behind runaway Championship leader Stefan Bradl. Last year at Aragon Marquez was knocked off at the first corner in his pursuit of the 125 cc World title which he went on to win. This year he will want to stay out of trouble as he hunts down the cool Bradl who will not panic under pressure from the Spanish teenager and the patriotic crowd.

Last year Italian Andrea Iannone won the race and could really upset the Bradl/Marquez contest as he fights to hang onto third place in the Championship. Just 12 points separate Iannone in third and Tom Luthi in seventh.

EVENT TIME SCHEDULE
Friday 16 September
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 17 September
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 18 September
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 (20 laps)
12.15                           Moto2 RACE (21 laps)
14.00                           MotoGP RACE (23 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 17 September
11.50 – 15.00 MotoGP, Moto2 Qualifying Red Button/Online

Sunday 18 September
09.50 – 12.05    125cc & Moto2 Races BBC Red Button
12.30 – 14.00    MotoGP Race BBC Two
14.00 – 14.30    MotoGP Extra BBC Red Button

BRITISH EUROSPORT
Friday 16 September
12.10 – Free Practice 125cc, MotoGP, Moto2

BRITISH EUROSPORT 2
Saturday 17 September
11.55 – Live Qualifying 125cc, Moto2, MotoGP

Sunday 18 September
09.45 – 125cc Race Live
11.15 – Moto2 Race Live
18.00 – MotoGP Action