Confidence high as Tech3 head to Sepang
Posted on Oct 20, 2015 by Monster Yamaha Tech 3
The Monster Yamaha Tech3 Team pairing of Bradley Smith and Pol Espargaro jet to Malaysia primed and ready to fight at the Sepang International Circuit for the penultimate round of the 2015 MotoGP World Championship. The final stage of the triple consecutive flyaway races will occur at the world famous 5.5 kilometre circuit that is located 50 kilometres south of Kuala Lumpur. The track features a wide variety of turns with 5 left corners and 10 right as well as a straight of 920 metres in what is a truly demanding test for all MotoGP riders.
Bradley Smith will look to bounce back from a hard-fought 10th place finish at the Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix with a top six result at Sepang, the circuit where he rode very competitively during the pre season winter tests. The 24 year old currently sits in 6th in the World Championship, holding the position of the leading satellite rider and will aim to speed to a strong finish in the 20 lap sprint to boost his tally further.
Bradley Smith: – Championship: 6th – Points: 158
“I’m excited to be racing at Sepang this weekend and I am certain that we can finish with a notable result. We had a really strong winter test there at the beginning of the season which bodes well for this weekend. At that time, we tried a lot of different settings and I am very confident that we’ll have a strong base setup to start with on Friday which will kick things off in a positive manner. Of course, we know it’s a physical circuit and the temperature will be very high along with the humidity. This, of course, makes it even more demanding and additionally, the track is usually quite greasy at this time of the year and much more than when we test here in the winter. Our target will be to concentrate a lot on the afternoon sessions in order to get the best setting for those types of conditions, which is how it will be at race time on Sunday. Therefore, it will be important to run some good lap times and be as consistent as possible. After the difficult GP at Phillip Island, I am looking forward to the Grand Prix at Sepang where I am sure that I will be competitive and inside the top six on Sunday afternoon.”
Hervé Poncharal - Team Manager:
“Next up for us is the race at the Sepang International Circuit, a track that has a great reputation and is one of the most technical, yet exciting places that we go to. The weekend in Australia was a bit challenging for our riders, but they did their best and this time around we expect them both to be fighting for the leading satellite position. Bradley did a solid job at Phillip Island and still holds his record for finishing every Grand Prix inside the top ten this season, so for sure this is something to be proud of. He tested well in the pre season and is confident of scoring strongly in the race, so we know that he can fight for a top six. Meanwhile, Pol is fired up and ready for the fight in Malaysia and we know he will give his all, as he always does, and battle as close as possible to the factory bikes. He showed some amazing determination last year when he finished in 6th despite breaking a bone in his left foot after a terrifying crash. This was very impressive and at the moment he is fully fit so we know he can be right up there with his teammate, if not ahead of him.”