MotoGP

Smith Looking To Build On Strong COTA Showing

2 Mins read

Bradley Smith is hoping to maintain the momentum from his impressive ride in Texas at this weekend’s Argentine Grand Prix. The Briton was the leading satellite rider in sixth at the Circuit of the Americas and with the Termas de Rio Hondo track likely to favour the Yamaha YZR-M1 much more, Smith has a similar aim in mind on Sunday.

“I’m looking forward to the race in Argentina after the good result we had in Texas and I’m happy the wait is not so long! The track won’t have changed a lot from last year in terms of grip and the racing line will be quite narrow. For sure, it will be vital to get a strong qualifying position there and I intend to be far quicker than last year as I was not happy with the result or having to go through Q1. We are improving the setting every time we run the Yamaha but the main thing we need to focus on is looking after the front tyre. So we will keep studying the Yamaha data to see where I can improve. My ambition remains the same, which is to be close to the factory riders and after all of the positives we have had so far, I am going to Argentina confident and optimistic about getting another strong result.”

Tech 3 teammate Pol Espargaro endured a nightmare afternoon in Austin with Scott Redding taking him out on the first lap, prompting a Twitter spat between the two, but the Spaniard is now keen to put that matter behind him.

“Unfortunately after all the hard work in Texas, our race day was ruined due to an incident, but anyway we must forget about this as well as the entire weekend as we now focus on Argentina. I am looking forward to visiting the Rio Hondo track again which is very fast and more of a Yamaha type of track. The local fans are really enthusiastic and are very happy to see MotoGP in their country, so therefore I will do my best to put on a good show for them and to make amends for the bad weekend in Texas. I know I have the pace to be up running with my teammate and battling for the leading satellite position. We’ve had a bit of bad luck so far this year, but at round 3 I know the team and I can pull together and get a strong result before we head to Europe.”

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