Bradley Smith - Photo Credit: Tech 3
Bradley Smith feels he has the potential to challenge for his maiden Moto2 victory in tomorrow's Australian Grand Prix after qualifying seventh at Phillip Island.
Wet/dry conditions on Saturday afternoon saw a number of riders qualify in unfamiliar positions with title rivals Stefan Bradl and Marc Marquez eighth and 13th respectively (although the latter will start from the back of the grid) and Smith's Tech 3 teammate Mike Di Meglio up in second, just behind Alex de Angelis.
With conditions so unpredictable, Smith was pretty satisfied with a place on the third row and expects tomorrow's race to closely contested at the front.
“This afternoon’s qualifying was quite complicated with the weather and I am happy to have done the lap time I did because the conditions certainly weren’t ideal. The wind was very unpredictable and even at the end you had a few rain spots on the visor, so it was quite tricky to push with a lot of confidence. It would have been nice to be on the second row instead of the third but I’ll be looking to get a good start and be aggressive in the first few laps like always. Looking at the lap times it could be a close and exciting race at the front, and I’m looking forward to it and being right in the middle of the battle.”
