Britain’s Bradley Smith knocked almost a second off his laptime on the second day of MotoGP testing at Sepang, bringing him to only four-tenths behind the works Yamaha of Jorge Lorenzo as well as completing a competitive race run.
The Monster Yamaha man set a 2’00.329 compared to Lorenzo’s 1’59.902 and he was on a par with Valentino Rossi on the second of the factory Movistar bikes.
“Today was a really positive day for me and the team. We began by doing a race simulation in the morning which was our main objective, in order to collect data and feedback. In addition, it was also so that I could understand the new 2015 Yamaha better and see how it handles during a race simulation with full fuel load or used tyres,” said Smith.
“The race run was very positive and I was able to stay consistently strong during the 20 laps, which indicates the team have done a good job and I have also with my training during the winter months.
“This afternoon I was able to improve the lap time and it was the closest that I have been to the front so far as I was just behind Valentino and 0.3 from Jorge, which is pleasing. Tomorrow we just need to continue with the testing programme and improving the bike. We are already doing a great job and are 95% there."
