Tech 3 Racing Team riders Bradley Smith and Xavier Simeon collected valuable World Championship points in a Spanish Moto2 Grand Prix cut short by rain showers this afternoon.
Smith and Simeon were both in contention for top 10 positions when rain began falling shortly after the halfway stage of another absorbing Moto2 encounter.
The race started under heavy cloud cover with damp patches still scattered around the Circuito de Jerez from earlier cloudbursts, but both Smith and Simeon quickly adapted to the tricky conditions to battle their way int o contention for a double top 10 finish.
Smith was producing another trademark display of aggressive riding to close down Johann Zarco and former Moto2 World Champion Toni Elias battling for ninth when rain spots started to fall on lap 15 of 26.
As conditions worsened, race officials were left with no option but to red flag the race seconds after leader Marc Marquez had started the 19th lap.
The result was declared from the standings at the end of lap 17, which left British rider Smith in 11th and just 0.7s away from the top 10.
Starting from 17th position on the grid, Simeon lost out in the frantic jostle for positions on the first lap and dropped back to 21st before he embarked on a thrilling surge through the field.
The Belgian pulled off a series of brilliant overtakes to move into the top 10 after only nine laps. And when the red flags were shown he was in hot pursuit of team-mate Smith and experienced Italian Alex de Angelis trying to move up from 13th place.
Bradley Smith 11th – 12 points:
“I'm reasonably happy to have scored some points because I knew that starting from 19th on the grid it was going to a tricky race. We made some big changes to the bike compared to yesterday and the modifications seemed to work and that should help me be closer to the front in the next few races. It has not been an easy weekend with the weather playing a major part, so to come away with 11th place is still a really good result and a decent reward for my Tech 3 crew, who have worked tirelessly all weeken d to give me a competitive bike. I think we have definitely found a direction with the set-up of the Mistral 610 and now I am heading to Estoril later this week much more confident and expecting to be back competing for the top six, which is where we need to be.”
Xavier Simeon 13th – 3 points:
“The start of the race was good for me but very tricky because the racing line was dry but really slippery and that made it difficult. I had to be very careful while coming through the pack but I managed to make a lot of overtakes and I was in a really fast and comfortable rhythm. I caught the group with Corti and Elias but then de Angelis arrived and started to make block passes, so we lost contact with the group in front. While we were battling we lost some time and that allowed Bradley and Zarco to pass us. Unfortunately th e conditions changed and the race was red flagged. It was the right decision but I am disappointed because we did a good weekend and I could have finished close to the top six without the battle with de Angelis. My Tech 3 Racing crew did a fantastic job as usual and we can go to Estoril confident we can enjoy a positive weekend.”
Herve Poncharal – Team Manager:
“That was a very difficult race for everybody because the conditions were so unpredictable. Xavier and Bradley both got a good start and they recovered a few places in the early part of the race to make it an interesting battle for the top 10. There was a lot of overtaking but it was inevitable the rain would play some part in proceedings. Bradley actually looked like one of the most confident when some rain drops started to fall but the race was red-flagged when he was looking really strong. He was in the top 10 when the red flags came out but as the result was declared from the end of lap 17, it means he dropped back to 11th. We can't be too excited to finish 11th and 13th but it is a good result considering the starting positions. Bradley was less than 10 seconds behind the winner so that gives us reason to be very optimistic and confident for the forthcoming races. We believe we have a good bike, so hopefully we can show it in Estoril later this week.”
Yamaha Tech 3 Press Release
