Bradley Smith has set himself the challenge of finishing as leading satellite rider in 2015 as he prepares for the opening test of the year in Sepang. The Briton claimed his maiden podium finish in MotoGP at Phillip Island last season and is looking to step on the rostrum again this season, as well as regaining the upper hand over Monster Yamaha Tech 3 teammate Pol Espargaro.
“‘I’m very excited to get 2015 underway with Monster Yamaha Tech3. This will be my third season with the team in the MotoGP class and I am grateful to Herve and Yamaha plus I look forward to continuing our relationship. We all know each other well and we’ve had two great learning years together so I am expecting bigger and better things in 2015, having already taken my debut podium last season. My ambition for the year will be to replicate another podium finish and we must really look at being the top satellite bike. This will entail a lot of hard work from now onwards but if we can continue the progress and the improvements we made in the latter part of last season, then we will surely get strong results.”
Smith was encouraged by his first impression of the 2015-spec Tech 3 YZR-M1 at Valencia last November and hopes to build on that momentum on Wednesday morning.
“I am thrilled to be throwing my leg over the Yamaha again this week for the first Sepang test. We more or less know the 2015 package which we tested at Valencia in November, so this week will involve shaking off the cobwebs and adjusting back to riding at 350 km/h. I’ve had a really productive winter season where I’ve trained hard and ridden a lot, so I’m feeling optimistic and I am in good form to start working with the Yamaha YZR-M1 for a successful 2015 season”.
Testing will run for the next four days and TCF will have regular coverage from the Sepang International Circuit.
