Monster Yamaha Tech3 rider Pol Espargaro kicked off the opening day of the Tissot Australian Grand Prix at the spectacular Phillip Island circuit in a positive fashion by clinching 8th position. The young Spanish rider, who has won twice in succession at this track in the intermediate class in recent years, started the day by finishing 11th as he set about experimenting with tyre options as well as beginning to establish the setup of his Yamaha YZR-M1. In the afternoon, the reigning Moto2 World Champion remained fully focused on upping his level at the 4448 meter Australian circuit yet fell at turn four but luckily remained uninjured, at the halfway mark in the practice. However, Espargaro showed resilience and sprinted back to the pit box before returning to the track straight away on his second bike and then powering through to set a best lap of 1’30.103. This time saw him seize 8th with it being only three tenths from the front row which further strengthens the Spaniard’s ambition to clinch a top six result in the qualifying session tomorrow.

Meanwhile, Bradley Smith made progressive steps forward as well by exploring setup and tyre options on the Yamaha YZR-M1 before finishing in 11th position in the tightly contested afternoon session in Australia. The British star opened the first practice at the Phillip Island circuit by riding to 8th in the morning under sunny conditions at the coastal track. As the afternoon practice began, Smith got down to business and remained determined in setting himself up to qualify strongly ahead of the battle on Sunday where he intends to fight into the top five. The British rider completed the FP2 practice with a personal fastest lap of 1’30.313, which was a steady improvement of over three tenths of a second from his morning time. In addition, the lap was merely 0.359 from fifth place. Smith’s start today leaves him optimistic and confident of lowering the gap to the leading bikes further tomorrow, before fighting to qualify as high as possible during the all-important qualifying session in the afternoon.

Pol Espargaro - Position : 8th Time : 1'30.103

"Fortunately, I am fine and not injured at all after the fall in the afternoon, even if it was quite a fast one. We still do not exactly know why it happened as I was on the hard tyre compound which felt good and comfortable when turning. Therefore we need to work out why this occurred because I fell when I was still straight and on the brakes. A possible reason might be that the previous corners are lefts and then when we eventually get to the fourth turn, the right side of the tyre is a bit too cold and in this case, it could still be an issue with the asymmetric tyres during the weekend. We tried all of the tyre combinations today and I prefer the hard option despite the crash, but we will continue our research to find the best option. There is quite a big difference to Moto2 and at the moment, I think it’s more fun on the intermediate bikes. However, this is due to my inexperience and I need to learn more. In the afternoon my performance was a little better but there was still a gap to the front that I need to close so we will work hard to improve in order to get a good qualifying tomorrow."

Bradley Smith - Position : 11th Time : 1'30.313

"Overall, the first day has been quite constructive for me at Phillip Island. We were able to try the new Bridgestone tyre which is available here and they’ve done a good job to create it, as it looks like it will last the full race distance, which is obviously very important. However, it does require a slightly different setup to what we are used to, in order to accommodate the tyre, so we’ve been trying to learn and understand exactly what it needs. Yet, in general I am pleased with what we have achieved. I was consistent but unfortunately I finished in 11th as it was a close session, so tomorrow we will look to improve straight away in order to get straight into Q2. In my opinion, the track has lost a bit of grip compared to last year, but with the good weather and less wind today, we’ve still been able to perform well. My aim is to ride a 1’29 lap time tomorrow, so with a bit more improvement I am confident that I can qualify well."

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