Britain’s Bradley Smith has brushed off a late crash in yesterday’s opening MotoGP free practice session in Qatar, saying he managed to collect vital data about Michelin three front-tyre options.
Smith admitted that through the recent three-day test at the desert circuit, he had been struggling through the final set of turns that lead on to the front straight and that is where he went down but remained posititive about the work achieved so far.
"It was a positive start to this Grand Prix, but it was really unfortunate to end the first night with a crash. I felt very comfortable and confident with the Yamaha along with the hard Michelin tyre and I did a long run at the beginning of the session. We then changed to the tyres that I preferred to use at the test here, and unfortunately, I made a small mistake in turn 13 which caused me to lose the front,” said Smith, who ended 11th and only a second off the pace.
“Anyway, for me it was vital to get the data about both tyre options during the first night, in order to have a clear direction to follow for the remainder of the weekend. We will continue to push forward inside the top ten, because I am convinced that without the crash, I could have ended the session there. This is a good step forward compared to the test, so now we will repair the bike, check the data and come back a bit stronger.”