Tech3 Moto2 rider Bradley Smith is confident he has podium pace for tomorrow's Motegi round after qualifying at the head of row two earlier on today, a little over half a second slower than pole man Marc Marquez.
Smith's 1'52.645 is only 0.222 off the final front-row place which was taken by Speedup's Andrea Iannone and the Oxfordshire copper-top has had top five pace all weekend which bodes well for tomorrow's encounter.
"It has been a very positive weekend so far in Motegi, so hopefully we can finish the job off in the race tomorrow. We made some small modifications to the bike in qualifying which should help my pace in the race and I am really happy with the work we have done," said Smith.
"I was constantly in the top five all weekend and this has given me a lot of confidence that I can fight for the podium tomorrow. I have a good pace with a full fuel tank and that is positive as well. I just need one of my good starts again and push hard through the first five or six laps and see how the race unfolds from that point. My target is to gain more points and keep the pressure on the riders in front of me."
