Smith fired up for Tech3 home GP at Le Mans
Posted on May 04, 2016 by Monster Yamaha Tech 3
The Tech3 team keenly await the forthcoming Monster Energy Grand Prix de France at the legendary Le Mans circuit with both riders fully confident of clinching two strong finishes at the team’s home round.
Bradley Smith aims to turn around his tricky season so far and battle with his teammate for the top independent position aboard the Yamaha YZR-M1. After making progress at the Jerez test, the 25-year-old British will be gunning to repeat his strong performance in last year’s race at Le Mans, where he seized 6th.
Bradley Smith: – Championship: 12th – Points: 20
"Although this season has been quite challenging for me, I am determined to turn things around in Le Mans, especially as it’s the Tech3 team’s home race, plus the Grand Prix is sponsored by Monster Energy who are the team’s title backers. Le Mans is always interesting and the weather there is similar to what we get in England so we all have to be prepared for rain, even if I am keeping my fingers crossed for a dry weekend. However, despite the fact whether it’s wet or not, I am going to do my absolute best and hopefully, we get the bike set up well on the opening day in order to be in a good position to fight for the top independent placement on Sunday. This is what I’ll be aiming for but we will have to work hard to be able to get there. Anyway, we ran well at Le Mans last year and we made some progress at the test in Jerez so we will see what happens. Yet, I am keen to get going and give the Tech3 fans something to cheer about."
Hervé Poncharal - Team Manager:
“This weekend will be a very busy one for the Monster Yamaha Tech3 Team but it’s an event that we all love because it’s our home Grand Prix. The fans are always fantastic at Le Mans and the circuit is legendary so it’s great that we can compete there. In addition, the GP is backed by our lead sponsor Monster Energy which makes the event even more special for us. In terms of results, we hope that Pol can keep his head down and ride to another strong position at a track that we know he likes. He made some good steps forward at Jerez, therefore, we are sure that he can show everyone what he is capable of in France. As for Brad, he has had a challenging start to the season and is finishing in places that he can’t be satisfied with. However, he is trying his absolute hardest and we are supporting him as much as we can, so I hope that he can fight with his teammate for the top independent placement in Sunday’s race. We are all excited about the Monster Energy Grand Prix de France and we fully aim to do our best for the fans.”