Smith shines on the opening day at the Sachsenring

[totalmotorcycle]

Smith shines on the opening day at the #Sachsenring


@Monster @Yamaha @Tech3 Team rider Bradley Smith battled the wind at the GoPro Motorrad Grand Prix Deutschland to conclude the opening day of MotoGP action with a highly impressive finish of 2nd position. The British rider kicked off his weekend by undertaking a shake down with his Yamaha YZR-M1 in preparation for the 30 lap sprint on Sunday and completed the FP1 session in 13th. When the afternoon practice started, he continued to adjust the setup and assess the tyre options before undertaking a total of 27 laps around the 3.7 kilometre circuit. By the fall of the chequered flat, he had set a blistering time of 1'21.740 which left him only 0.119 from the top of the heap. His performance now leaves him confident of surging to a strong grid position in the all-important qualifying session tomorrow.
On the other side of the Monster Yamaha Tech3 team garage, Pol Espargaro opened his 2015 MotoGP campaign at the Sachsenring by completing the first day of action in 13th place in the combined standings. The young Spaniard began the initial shake down in FP1 with a run to 12th position after suffering an unfortunate fall at the notoriously difficult turn 11. However, he sprinted back to the pits and leapt onto his second Yamaha YZR-M1 before concluding the session in this placement. When free practice two began, he continued his work at the tight and twisting German track as he undertook a total of 21 laps before finishing with a best time of 1'22.436, leaving him in 13th. Nevertheless, this lap left him just over six tenths of a second back from third and he now looks onwards to tomorrow where he intends to snatch a top starting position for the ninth round battle on Sunday.



Bradley Smith

2nd / 1’21.740 / 52 laps

"It was a positive start to the weekend and I am feeling comfortable on the bike already. The base setting seems to be working well at this race track and I am looking forward to getting back out tomorrow and continuing this form. In addition, I'm happy about our showing today especially after the difficult time that we had last year. We were able to assess quite a lot of different front tyre options today and now we pretty much have everything clear for the race with regards to tyre choice. There are a few small details that we need to improve, which I noticed when I was following some other riders. Furthermore, I'm happy with how the bike handles the first and third sectors, but we need to make a few adjustments in order to improve in the other two. All in all, to be second at the end of day one is a strong start and now we need to keep this momentum for tomorrow, because qualifying is always so important at this circuit."






Pol Espargaro

13th / 1’22.436 / 41 laps

"It goes without saying that it has been quite a tricky opening day to the weekend. Unfortunately I crashed this morning, which meant that we lost a pair of tyres so I had to start the afternoon session with a used set. Still, our rhythm was really promising as I was running in 8th position despite the fact that the tyres had reached almost race distance. However, I then entered the pits and changed tyres for the final run but when I returned to the track, my feeling on the bike was just not the same anymore. This happened to Bradley in Assen and also to us quite a few times this year, yet it's always better to have something like this happen on a Friday instead of later on in the weekend. Nevertheless, I am happy with how the bike is working even though we still have a degree of improvement to make in some areas. Most importantly, we have to be wise tomorrow because we now have one set of tyres less but we are still confident of clinching a strong result here this weekend in Germany."



Baz and Corti debutted at Sachsenring
It was a very intense first day of work for the Athinà Forward Racing team on the Sachsenring circuit which this week hosts the ninth race of the 2015 season, the last before the usual summer break.
Loris Baz, debuting on the German track, improved his lap time by over two seconds in the afternoon session after struggling in the first stint in the morning. He finished close to the other Open bikes and ended 19th in the combined timesheets. The Frenchman is confident for qualifying, where the aim is to fight for the lead in the class.
Today saw also a positive start for Claudio Corti, who returned to MotoGP for the first time since a year and a half. The rider from Como replaces local idol Stefan Bradl, who still recovering after last week surgery to his right scaphoid, this weekend and was more than a second and a half quicker at the end of second free practice session. Corti had a good feeling and will make the most of the coming free practices to adjust the front to his riding style.



19th / 1'23.344 / 48 laps

"It was a day of work aimed to become familiar with the track. The circuit is difficult to master, very technical with many blind corners. Although we are a little off the usual positions, I am satisfied overall. We made an important step forward since this morning and I'm confident for tomorrow."






Claudio Corti

25th / 1'25.160 / 43 laps

"Overall it was a positive day. I made the most of free practice in the morning to get to grips with the bike trying not to make mistakes. In the afternoon I pushed more and I improved my best time by over a second and a half. I have a completely different riding style compared to Stefan and I have to change the whole front setting. The feeling is good, the bike is easier to ride than I thought and I'm sure we can do a good job for qualifying with the team. I believe that I can still improve and shorten the gap to make a good race."




2015 MotoGP Germany

Sachsenring 10/07/2015

1 Marc Marquez Honda ESP 1'21.621
2 Bradley Smith
Yamaha
GBR 1'21.740
3 Andrea Iannone Ducati ITA 1'21.824
4 Jorge Lorenzo
Yamaha
ESP 1'21.886
5 Daniel Pedrosa Honda ESP 1'21.889
6 Aleix Espargaro Suzuki ESP 1'22.095
7 Valentino Rossi
Yamaha
ITA 1'22.102
8 Scott Redding Honda GBR 1'22.167
9 Yonny Hernandez Ducati COL 1'22.196
10 Andrea Dovizioso Ducati ITA 1'22.340
11 Hector Barbera Ducati ESP 1'22.413
12 Cal Crutchlow Honda GBR 1'22.425
13 Pol Espargaro
Yamaha
ESP 1'22.436
14 Maverick Viñales Suzuki ESP 1'22.507
15 Danilo Petrucci Ducati ITA 1'22.546
19 Loris Baz
Yamaha
FRA 1'23.344
25 Claudio Corti Forward Yamaha ITA 1'25.160





Circuit Length:
3671
Lap Record:
1'21.846
(Daniel Pedrosa, 1-1-2011)
Fastest Lap Ever:
1'20.937
(Marc Marquez, 13-7-2014)
Last Years Winner:
Marc Marquez