Smith leaps into action on the opening day at Misano

Posted on Sep 11, 2015 by Monster Yamaha Tech 3

Bradley Smith leapt into action on the opening day at Misano and began his San Marino Grand Prix challenge with a solid performance to seize 8th as he looks to fight to another top six result this weekend. When the morning session began, the British rider wasted no time in analysing the resurfaced track as he made the initial adjustments to his MotoGP bike in preparation for Sunday's race.

The Briton dug deep and after completing 18 laps, his best was 1'34.266 which left him in 8th and fully primed for the afternoon session. After undertaking continuous progress throughout FP2 with the setup of his Yamaha YZR-M1, Smith ultimately shot across the finish line with a best lap of 1'33.595 that saw him complete the day in 8th, plus, his performance was just a blink of an eye behind his teammate by a mere 0.042 of a second. With today ending positively for the Monster Yamaha Tech3 Team rider, he now focuses on extending his recent notable record tomorrow, as he has qualified no lower than 6th in the last three races.

Bradley Smith: – Position: – 8th: – Time: 1'33.595: – Laps: 46
“It was a good start overall today here in Misano and there are plenty of positives to think about tonight. One of the main plus points is that the Yamaha YZR-M1's are strong here even though we were the only manufacturer who missed the test here earlier this year. I must admit that I was a bit nervous about this, but having said that, after the performances from Vale and Jorge last year we knew that our bike would be competitive. Today we tried all three front tyre options and both of the rear compounds and now we have a clear indication of which direction we want to head towards for the rest of this weekend. The front of the bike is the most critical area at this track due to the nature of the circuit and the hard braking, therefore the front compound choice will be vital for the race. In addition, we need to continue our work as there is a compromise to be made between braking stability and turning of the bike. Yet overall, the new surface is an improvement and not quite the step up that everyone was talking about but for sure it's a lot better for performance and for the safety of riders, which is the most important point. For tomorrow, I hope to continue this positive form and clinch a top grid position for the race on Sunday.”