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Monster Yamaha Tech3 Team rider Bradley Smith battled his way to 8thposition in the demanding 23 lap sprint around the MotorLand Aragon circuit today aboard the Yamaha YZR-M1. When the lights went out, the young Briton undertook a decent start from 10thto close the first lap one position higher from where he began. He then built up his speed before firmly setting into his race rhythm as he confidently attempted to force his way into the top six. By the end of the 7thlap, Smith was running comfortably in 6thas he homed in on Andrea Dovizioso ahead. However, he unfortunately ran wide eleven laps from the end and was shuffled back two places. Nevertheless, the 24 year old remained focused and set his sights on closing back in on the fierce fight for 5th, with Cal Crutchlow in front of him. Smith pushed onwards as he continued to plug the gap and on the last lap he was still right behind Crutchlow, but despite his best efforts, he fired across the finish line in 8th. The result sees the young British rider still hold his record of completing every round this season in no lower than 8th. Furthermore, he remains as one of only three MotoGP riders who have concluded every race and he will now confidently head to Japan for the 15thevent of the 2015 World Championship.
Meanwhile, Pol Espargaro finished the MotoGP race one position behind his teammate after producing a resolute effort in front of 67,000 Spanish fans. The young Spaniard got off to a solid start today by completing the morning’s warm up practice in 3rdposition, leaving him fully optimistic of a good run in the afternoon’s race. When the fight began, Espargaro lunged forward from the head of the second row and diced with the factory MotoGP riders as he closed the first lap in 6th. He was running in 5thone lap later as he looked to mount a challenge to battle the front runners, but unfortunately he then slipped back to 9thon the 4thlap. Yet, Espargaro remained fully determined as he undertook a recovery charge to close back in on the group in front. At just over half race distance the 2013 Moto2 World Champion was closing in as he joined the pack of five, including his teammate fighting for 5th. He did his best to move in on Smith, despite suffering with an issue with his gear lever, yet time ran out before the chequered flag was waved. Next up for the 24 year old is the Motul Grand Prix of Japan where he intends to achieve a strong finish aboard the Yamaha YZR-M1.
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Bradley Smith | ||
| Position : 8th | Championship :5th | Points : 143 | |
“I have to be happy with the result today after what was certainly a tough race at Aragon. All of the different manufactures were in the group that I was fighting in and each one was stronger in different areas of the track. As a result, the pack was really competitive and all of us were pushing as much as we could. Unfortunately, I made the mistake when I was right behind Dovizioso and almost ran into him. To avoid this, I had to go wide and it took me ten laps to make up that second that I lost which just proves how easily matched we all were. Yet, I am pleased with the result, especially considering that things didn’t go exactly as we wanted them to this weekend. Moreover, we were still in the hunt for 5th today which I was not convinced about before the start of the race. Therefore, to come away with this result and without loosing too many points in the championship is overall quite positive. In addition, it’s easy to make a mistake at a track like this, so I am happy to have kept it on two wheels! Next up is Motegi which I am looking forward to. The track layout is gruelling but I feel that I can run well there and I hope to give the Japanese fans a good show.”
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Pol Espargaro | ||
| Position : 9th | Championship : 10th | Points : 88 | |
 “It goes without saying that today’s race was very demanding for me. The beginning itself was actually really positive but just when I pulled away from the riders behind me, I had to run wide as my gear didn’t engage and I was in neutral. Because of this, I lost several positions as well as some vital seconds which I tried to make up afterwards but it really wasn’t easy. In the following laps, I checked which engine maps gave me the best chance of catching the group in front. However, whilst I was pushing my hardest to make up the time, I lost the rubber on my gear shifter which caused the lever to be very slippery so shifting up and down was truly difficult for the rest of the race. Taking all of this into consideration, we have to be quite pleased with the fact that we finished less than two seconds from fifth, even though it is a pity to end up in 9th. We now have to look forward to the three overseas races, with the first round being in Japan, a place which I’m happy to return to after the incredible experience this summer at the Suzuka 8 Hours race.”
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Hervé Poncharal – Team manager : | ||
| “It was another top ten finish for our two guys, but in all honesty, I can’t hide that we were expecting a bit more in terms of the final results today. Both of our boys had good starts and Pol was right up there with the leaders and looking good. However, he made a mistake and lost contact with the group which was a shame but he regrouped and fought right until the end in the second pack which was clearly where the action was. As for Brad, he did a good job also and to collect another set of points strengthens his championship fight. In the race, we knew he had a similar pace to Pol, even though the qualifying position was not ideal. So to have both guys finish inside the top ten is solid, yet we are a strong team and very competitive, so we need to find something more for the next races. We could have possibly been a position or two higher, but at the moment the four guys in front ride with a different rhythm and are very quick. The 25 second gap from the leader back to our guys is too big and this is what we have to work on. Tomorrow there is an important test and it will be interesting to see what we can do and improve. Today, we did our best and next is Japan where we hope to obtain two results on Sunday that are a bit higher up the field.“ | |||