This week Bradley Smith and Pol Espargaro head to Argentina aiming to build on their positive form shown so far this season, at the exciting new Termas de Rio Hondo circuit, for round 3 of the 2014 MotoGP World Championship.

After an absence of fifteen years, the MotoGP paddock returns to Argentina at the fast and meandering Circuito Termas de Rio Hondo, located in the province of Santiago del Estero, which hosts its inaugural MotoGP event. The young line up of the Monster Yamaha Tech3 Team will compete on the 4,806 metre circuit, which features a long back straight of just over 1 kilometre in length, with five left corners and nine right. The riders will once again try to prove themselves as the top satellite bikes, and battle for World Championship points in the 25 lap race on Sunday.

Britain’s Bradley Smith aims to continue his confident start to the season and assert himself as the leading satellite MotoGP bike in Argentina, having finished with a personal best position of 5th in Texas. Whereas rookie Pol Espargaro, will extend his knowledge of the Yamaha YZR-M1 and attempt to challenge inside the top ten again on Sunday having clinched his first ever MotoGP points last race with an expertly executed ride to 6th position.

Bradley Smith:

“For sure it will be very exciting for all of us to return to Argentina after so many years. The fans there have so much passion and I am truly looking forward to the race on this brand new circuit of Termas de Rio Hondo. All the facilities are partly still under construction, so it's a big step into the unknown. After my best ever result, and finishing as the leading Yamaha in Texas, I am determined to carry on this positive display. The Yamaha feels great and I am pleased with my performance over race distance, so for sure with a big team effort we will be able to get a competitive result in Argentina this weekend”.

Pol Espargaro:

"To discover a new race track is always very fascinating and I’m convinced that this event will be a very stimulating one. It will be an equal playing field for all of the riders. The layout looks really interesting, with lots of fast flowing corners, and I cannot wait to start riding on Friday. Especially after the good result in Texas, where I not only scored my first MotoGP points, but also finished 6th and as the second Yamaha behind my teammate, I’m really optimistic for this race. My pace over race distance was positive, and I feel more content about the feeling with my Yamaha”.

Herve Poncharal:

“Firstly, I want to say that it is fantastic that the MotoGP World Championship is back to Argentina for the first time since 1999. The new track looks interesting, and I’m convinced it will offer some brilliant racing for the fans and audiences, as the initial races have done this year so far. In terms of expectations, I am really pleased with Bradley’s and Pol’s performances at Texas. They both worked hard, and finished as the leading Yamahas scoring their best ever results, so it would be an understatement to say we won’t aim for a similar result this weekend. Hopefully Bradley will further display his clear improvements and for Pol, who is getting stronger with every ride, the main goal will again be to learn as much as possible. As no one has raced here before, it will be a big learning curve for everyone, but both riders have a chance to achieve good results and collect important points for the championship. I cannot wait to see the GP bikes run at the Termas de Rio Hondo circuit”.

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