Monster Yamaha’s Bradley Smith left the opening MotoGP Sepang test eighth on the overall timesheets but said he wasn’t looking for an outright laptime, rather looking at the bigger picture of the season ahead.
The Oxfordshire rider tried two long runs on the satellite YZR-M1 and reckons there is still work to do with the new-spec Bridgestone tyre in order to be ready for the opening Qatar round.
“We did some really good work, today we were concentrating on the new Bridgestone tyres. I tried to gain as much information and data also doing a half race simulation at the end of the day with this new tyre, just to compare it with the one from last year. Yesterday’s simulation was quite similar to today, although I believe we can still improve with this new tyre,” said Smith.
“I think I’ve done nearly 180 laps this test and we know where we need to start at Sepang 2. All in all I am pleased, even if the position on the timesheet does not seem to be ideal, it was never my main aim to set fast lap times during these three days. We are looking at the big picture, and preparing for the Championship and we will try to be ready for Qatar."
