Bradley Smith is confident he will be in a good position when he is able to ride at 100% when MotoGP returns to Sepang for the second pre-season test later this month. The British rider ended this week’s opening test in ninth spot despite carrying an ankle injury and believes that the Tech 3 squad have made good progress, something he hopes to capitalise on in a fortnight.
“It’s been a really productive and positive three days here in Sepang and a great way to open the 2015 season. I improved my time around seven tenths of a second every day which shows we are definitely heading in the right direction. Today we sampled a new swinging arm but the results were inconclusive so we will retest this part next time. We also tried some different front forks which gave me a good feeling that I am very happy about. My physical condition didn’t get worse, so I remain optimistic that when we return here my ankle will be completely healed and I can really go for it. In addition, I am very pleased to have improved my personal best time around the Sepang circuit by half a second. It’s been a great three days and I’m happy to be back on my bike. Next up, I head to Thailand for Yamaha which I am very much looking forward to”.
Teammate Pol Espargaro lapped under the two-minute mark to finish sixth quickest and agreed with Smith that Tech 3 were moving in the right direction.
“The last day has been a really good one. I’m happy because at the end we could complete a day positively which we are truly satisfied with. The first day was a good start, then yesterday we tried some different things and had a few difficulties, which we needed to experience in order to understand the best direction to work towards. However to finish the test, today has been very strong and a great conclusion. I was fast, I felt great on the bike, everything went according to plan, the rhythm is truly promising and we found a strong setup. So I’m really enthusiastic about the work we have completed today and cannot wait for the next outing where we will look to improve further. Now, I am going to Thailand for a few days to visit Yamaha which is going to be fantastic and I can’t wait to meet all of the people there”.
