Tech 3 Racing Team riders Bradley Smith and Xavier Simeon secured hard fought 10th and 13th places at the end of an exciting Moto2 race at the Estoril circuit in Portugal today.
British rider Smith delivered on his pre-race promise to attack from the beginning of the 26-lap race and he gained five places on the opening lap to force his way into eighth position from 13th on the grid.
He was involved in a terrific early battle with 2010 Moto2 World Champion Toni Elias before the frantic action settled down and Sm ith found himself back in 13th position.
Just two seconds split Smith in 13th and compatriot Scott Redding in fifth with 12 laps to go but the field began to stretch out with tyre wear starting to play a key role in the second half of the race.
Smith continued to show his fighting spirit and determination and he was back inside the top 10 with six laps remaining. But despite his best efforts, the 21-year-old was unable to force his way into a pulsating four-rider battle for sixth position and he had to settle for 10th position.
Team-mate Simeon also made an aggressive start to the third round of the 2012 World Championship campaign and he brilliantly carved his way through from 22nd to 15th after just two laps.
Feeling more confident to push his Mistral 610 to the limit after a problematic practice and qualifying, the Belgian rider was locked in an exciting battle for 12th with Dominique Aegerter, Claudio Corti, Ricard Cardus and Nicolas Terol. He did briefly snatch 12th place on lap 20 and the reward for his hard work was a second successive 13th place finish.
Bradley Smith 10th – 18 points:
“That was a tough race but I am still reasonably happy to be in the top 10. We made an excellent choice with the tyres. I lost a little bit compared to the guys in front but I could do very consistent times for the whole race. My pace got quicker as the race wore on and this is the most positive thing from today. The result might have been better but I made a small mistake at the first corner with three laps remaining. I was catching the guys in front of me a nd got in Mika Kallio's slipstream and that meant I was a little bit late during braking. The gap to the front is quite big but the guys around me are really good riders and experienced, so we will continue working hard and preparing for Le Mans in two weeks, which is the home race of Tech 3 Racing. It is a huge weekend for Tech 3, so I will be doing my best to be closer to the front.”
Xavier Simeon 13th – 6 points:
“I'm a lot happier than yesterday and it was a good race. I made a good start and my rhythm improved a lot from practice and qualifying, so thanks to my Tech 3 Racing crew who worked hard to improve my feeling with the bike. Already in the Warm-up session I saw that we had improved quite a lot because I could ride consistently fast and I ended up ninth, so I was convinced that I could score some points. If I had qualified a bit higher up the grid then we could have done better, but I enjoyed the fight with Aegerter and Corti a lot. It was hard but always clean. We will try to improve our pace for the next race in Le Mans, which is such a big race for the Tech 3 Team and I will try to enjoy riding the Mistral 610 as much as I did today.”
Herve Poncharal – Team Manager:
“We are quite satisfied with the outcome of today's race because Bradley and Xavier weren't starting from an ideal position on the grid, but both made a really good start and gained a lot of places. Bradley was able to stay with the leading group for the first few laps and as usual he rode with typical grit and determination and never gave up. During the second part of the race he got stronger and without a small mistake in the final stages he might h ave been able to finish sixth. That was a little unfortunate but a top 10 is still a strong result. I have to say big compliments to Xavier because he rode a really great race. I think he learned a lot today because he was together with really fast riders like Aegerter and had some good battles and he never gave up and deserved to score some points. His confidence is growing and now we can head to our home race in Le Mans optimistic that both of them can be battling for top finishes.”
