Smith suffers with end of the session fall

Posted on May 02, 2015 by Monster Yamaha Tech 3

Monster Yamaha Tech3 Team rider Bradley Smith will kick-start his fourth round MotoGP campaign from 10th position on the grid in Andalusia at the highly anticipated first European GP of the year. The 23 year old rider began his day by finishing in 9th with a top lap of 1’38.924 in FP3, which allowed him to pass straight through to Q2.

With the ground temperature at a scorching 53 degrees, the 15 minute shootout got underway and Smith set his fastest time of 1’39.491 on his third lap around the 4.4 kilometre track. He unfortunately suffered a fall at the end of the session, yet was not injured and he will start from the 4th row tomorrow and intends to follow up his two consecutive top six finishes this season by battling for the position of the leading satellite MotoGP rider once again.

Bradley Smith: – Position: 10th – Time: 1'39.491 – Laps: 8
"Overall, it was a tricky day, but to qualify in tenth is not so bad after the challenging weekend that we have had so far. Unfortunately for some reason, this afternoon when we switched from one bike to the other, due to the fall in FP4, the feeling on the bike was completely different. The second crash that I had today, in Q2, was entirely my fault and I missed the braking point and ran onto the gravel so I am sorry to the team for this, as it was my error. Even if this position is far from ideal, we have already shown this year that we can bounce back strongly so now we need to analyse our data and make a plan for tomorrow. This morning I felt that my race pace was quite positive, so we have to get back to that level. It will be a tough race for sure due to the heat and tyre preservation will be crucial, but I will give it my all as always."