Smith ready for Aragon race

Posted on Sep 17, 2011 by Tech3 Racing

he Tech3 Racing Team will start tomorrow's Motorland Aragon Moto2 race aiming for a double points-scoring finish from Bradley Smith and Mike di Meglio.

This afternoon's qualifying session at the challenging 3.155 miles turned out to be a tough experience for both Smith and di Meglio and they will start from 15th and 19th respectively on the grid for the 21-lap encounter.

Smith was optimistic he could ride his Mistral 610 machine into contention for a place on the second row of the grid after a productive practice saw him work on improving the set-up of his French-built bike.

The 20-year-old was ninth in practice but the expected improvements in qualifying unfortunately never materialised and his fastest time of 1.54.619 put him 15th. The times were once again close in another fiercely contested Moto2 session and Smith's best was just over 0.6s away from third position.

Bradley Smith 15th 1.54.619 – 17 laps:
"Unfortunately this afternoon we did not improve our lap time by much at all and that means that we went from being strong and competitive in the top 10 this morning to only 15th. That is disappointing and I am trying to find the reasons why. I felt pretty good on the bike but I was just struggling to find rear grip. Now I have to get a good start and try to work my way forward, which will not be easy on this track, but I am ready for the challenge. I am 1.4 seconds off the lead, but only 0.7s off second place and I will look to start battling with my Championship rivals once again. We've always found a big step with the bike for the race, and I'm convinced my Tech3 Racing Team can do the same again tomorrow and we can be racing in the top six like we were in Indy and Misano.”