"It’s always nice to have more corners!": MotoE™ set for Styria

Posted on Aug 18, 2022 by MotoGP™

The FIM Enel MotoE™ World Cup is back from summer break and ready to take on Styria as the stunning Red Bull Ring hosts Round 5. There's potential for a match point on Sunday but before that, it was time to talk shop.


Points leader Dominique Aegerter (Dynavolt Intact GP MotoE™) was joined in the pre-event Press Conference by closest challenger Eric Granado (LCR E-Team), Matteo Ferrari (Felo Gresini MotoE™), Bradley Smith (WithU GRT RNF MotoE™) and Maria Herrera (Openbank Aspar Team).

Questions for Bradley Smith:
Simple question first: how are you?

"Obviously, the season didn’t kick off to the best of starts, just one week before we were supposed to be at Jerez, but an interesting experience from that one and a bit of a long rehab process, but definitely feeling better. I’m feeling even better than Assen, so that’s the main thing. I think Assen was a tricky weekend to come back with the weather the way that it was, cancelled practices, and only a two-lap race, so I kind of walked away from that weekend scratching my head. But, I’m looking forward to this weekend. We’ll see how it pans out; the last time I was here, I got on the podium, in 2019, and had good pace in the dry and the wet. So, we’ll see what ends up panning out, but just need a bit more riding time, I think, and a bit more experience back in the race situation. But it's good to be back in the team again and try and make a bit of progress from Assen because we’re certainly lacking on settings and direction – the team’s relatively new this season, with new personnel inside – so still getting our head around it but hopefully this weekend will be a more positive one and I can fight with these top guys."

Is there anything specific that is the key focus for set-up, despite your limited track time?
"I certainly struggled a lot with the front end in Assen. It’s been a continuous thing that I’ve been basically crying about for the year – overloading the front tyre – so, just trying to get our head around the motorcycle and the new front forks that are obviously different than when I raced here, to give me the feeling that I need and to get the tyre pressures stable and in the right place. So, with this place being so front-heavy with the hard braking – in [Turns] 1, 3, and down the hill into 4 – it’s going to be something we need to get our head around."

Here are some key quotes! Make sure to tune in for MotoE™ qualifying on Friday at 16:50 (GMT +2), before the races on Saturday at 16:25 and Sunday at 15:30.