The start of the eni Motorrad Grand Prix Deutschland today proved to be a difficult one for the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team, with Cal Crutchlow and Bradley Smith unable to break into the top 10 on an incident-packed opening day of practice.

Smith found the tight and twisty Sachsenring layout, which is dominated by left-hand corners, a tough physical challenge for his recovering left wrist injury.

The scaphoid bone he damaged in a crash last month in Mugello is still not back to 100% strength and it was tested to the limit today, with the extra stress placed on the left side of his body only adding to the challenge of getting accustomed to the German venue on his Yamaha YZR-M1 machine.

Gradually building up his pace and confidence in cool and cloudy conditions this morning, Smith was able to lap almost 0.7s faster in warmer weather for FP2 and climb from 15th to 11th in the rankings.

The 22-year-old’s impressive pace of 1.23.040 was just over 0.1s away from the top 10 and less than 0.5s outside of the top six and on combined times he finished in an encouraging 12th position.

Crutchlow’s bid to secure a fourth podium of 2013 got off to a tough start, the on form British rider suffering two fast crashes today.
This morning’s FP1 had only a few seconds to run when Crutchlow crashed heavily at the first corner while he was attempting to improve on sixth position.

Shaken but not stirred in that incident, the 27-year-old then fell again in FP2 at the Sachsenring’s famous Turn 11, which is a super-fast left-hander with a downhill blind entry taken flat-out in fourth gear.

Crutchlow was able to walk away from the high-speed crash but he underwent checks on a suspected left arm injury before X-rays confirmed he had escaped any serious damage. He did suffer numerous cuts and abrasions to his hands and arms in the second crash but nothing that will prevent him from participating in tomorrow’s action.

His best time of 1.22.469 in FP1 was still fast enough to keep him inside the top six after both practice sessions.


Bradley Smith 11th 1.23.040 - 24 laps :

“It was a positive day. The Sachsenring is a very physical track, especially for the left side of the body, but it is not giving me too much of a problem. That is great because it proves all the hard work with my physiotherapist back in the UK has paid off with my wrist. It is not at 100% but it is much better than in Assen and I can ride with less discomfort and pain. I’m a bit disappointed not to be inside the top 10 but I felt I didn’t quite put the best lap together today, so I am sure we can improve for tomorrow. We have a clear direction to improve the setting I have no doubt my Monster Yamaha Tech 3 crew will improve our package for tomorrow. I am feeling confident and excited to improve tomorrow.”


Herve Poncharal – Team Manager :

“Obviously today was a very difficult one for Cal, but fortunately after two very big crashes he didn’t suffer any serious injury. He has no broken bones but in the second crash when he was sliding down the track, several pieces of gravel became trapped inside his right glove. They had to be removed by the medical staff at the Clinica Mobile and the wounds cleaned up. Cal’s forearm also suffered some friction burns and while it is nothing serious it is still very painful and uncomfortable. He is going to rest now but we are sure that he is going to be fine to ride tomorrow. Cal has incredible mental strength and he is a true fighter, so I have no doubt that he will bounce back from today and still put in a strong performance for the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team over the rest of the weekend."

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