The Monster Yamaha Tech3 Team made firm progress on day two of the first official MotoGP test at the Sepang International circuit. Both Monster Yamaha Tech3 riders Pol Espargaro and Bradley Smith lowered their lap times considerably on the second day of testing as they prepare for the 2014 MotoGP World Championship.

The Malysian weather once again provided perfect conditions for the testing, with the session running uninterrupted until 6pm local time in Kuala Lumpur.

Bradley Smith completed another positive day of testing which was focused on the evaluation of different electronic and suspension settings. Before running his first shortened race simulation of 15 laps to collect useful data in preparation for the forthcoming season. Smith improved his lap times from the previous day, and was quicker by 1.2 seconds. With getting 66 laps under his belt he established himself as most hardworking permanent MotoGP rider on track today and his application saw the Monster Yamaha Tech3 rider just three hundredths of a second and right behind the Factory Yamaha of Jorge Lorenzo. He finished the session with a best time of 2.00,603 min, in 7th place and just over 6 tenths behind the leader, Marc Marquez.

2013 Moto2 World Champion, Pol Espargaro continued to explore set up and electronic configurations with his new Monster Yamaha Tech3 Team. Making strides forward in terms of gaining confidence and understanding the bike, Espargaro displayed another impressive performance on the 2014 Monster Yamaha Tech3 YZR-M1 MotoGP bike today. The young Spaniard improved, and lowered his lap time by 0.6 of a second after clocking up 48 laps around the 5.543km track in Malaysia. He completed the session in 10th position, with a best time of 2.01,061 min.

The final day of testing will commence tomorrow at 10.00am (Local time – GMT +7) at the Sepang International circuit, Malaysia.


Bradley Smith - 7th – 2.00,603 min:

“In general, it was a positive day. I rode 66 laps, what made me finish on the podium if you consider all the riders and I am really pleased with our performance. I analyzed a lot of the new electronic ideas, the Bridgestone tyres, and the new suspension settings, all were very positive. I also did a kind of race simulation. This was 15 laps just to try and understand the fuel consumption, and also to understand the physical point of view and where I need to improve my preparation. All in all we made a good step, especially compared to yesterday. I lowered my lap time by 1.2 seconds and moved up to 7th position, which was only 6 tenths behind Marc Marquez, which is obviously still a bit, but considering how close we are to Jorge and Valentino, I am happy with the work we have done.”

Pol Espargaro - 10th – 2.01,061 min:

“I’m really satisfied with the work we did today. Already this morning when the track conditions were at its best and I felt physically strong I managed to lower my lap time quite a lot. Later when we tried a few modifications I realised that my rhythm had improved. Yesterday I was lapping with low 2.02’s and just a few 2.01’s, today I did 2.01’s comfortably with a best of 2.01,0 this morning. But what is really important to me is that beside the lap time I feel really comfortable on the bike. I’m just struggling a bit with things like the steadily changing track conditions because of the heat. Also the fact that you can’t be always out on track as it’s physically demanding does not make things easier for a rookie. Moreover the circuit is really wide so it is quite tricky at the beginning to find the perfect line. However, we did another step in the right direction, we did not crash and I’m already excited to be back on the bike tomorrow morning.”

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