Tech3 dodge the rain on day one at Sachsenring

Posted on Jul 15, 2016 by George Penny

Monster Yamaha Tech3 team rider Bradley Smith battled the physically demanding circuit and he finished day one right behind his teammate as he prepares to fight for the top independent position on Sunday. The young Briton got straight to work when the opening session commenced, and he took the first steps in adjusting the setup of his Yamaha YZR-M1 to suit the twisting circuit. The track time was cut short due to the mixed conditions, yet Smith optimistically looked on to the afternoon. Here, he gradually built up his pace, before speeding to a personal best, which leaves him only 0.060 behind his teammate. With better weather expected tomorrow, Smith confidently focuses on seizing a top tier qualifying position for the 30-lap sprint on Sunday.

Bradley Smith: – Position: 12th – Time: 1'23.460 – Laps: 27
"Obviously, conditions like these always make it difficult here in Sachsenring because it's a track that only has three right corners. You expect the circuit temperature to be around 30 degrees as it’s July, but I don’t think it was even above 20 today which of course, makes the job more difficult for Michelin. We saw the usual crashes that we unfortunately expect at turn eleven and hopefully all the riders who fell are ok, but there are always a few falls on the first day, as we begin to adjust the setting and our riding style for the remainder of the weekend. On the track I felt good, especially this afternoon and we kept the tyres from this morning so in the end, after doing four runs, we did full race distance by the end of FP2. In addition, I did my best lap on my last which means we are looking quite strong in terms of endurance. Yet, I am disappointed to be outside of the top ten, but we are not too far away from that target and my teammate is only a small step in front. It looks like we have room for improvement tomorrow so we’ll make some minor changes and wait for better track conditions, then hopefully, with a bit more temperature, the front tyre and rear will work better, but overall, I am pleased with our start."

Hervé Poncharal - Team Manager:
“Today should have been a very positive day, as it started with the announcement of the Dorna Independent Team’s agreement, but it actually turned out to be sad and a day of mourning. As we know, last night in France there was an atrocity at the Bastille Day Celebrations where people were on holiday and enjoying life at this time of the summer on the Côte d'Azur. A lot of people lost their lives for no reason. As a Frenchman and also a team representative for the MotoGP community, I want to express my great sadness and I would like to tell the world that we are with all those who have been affected.”