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***Malcolm*** · 05-02-2015, 02:50 PM

Monster Energy Tech3 Team rider Pol Espargaro concluded another successful day on track in the searing Sepang heat to post the 7th fastest time as he experimented with different chassis on day two of testing. The young Spaniard undertook another large collective of 57 laps and rode to his quickest one of 2'00.959 right at the beginning of the session on his 7th lap. Some testing time was lost in the afternoon due to the extreme heat which caused a lack of traction, however, once temperatures had cooled, the 2014 rookie of the year went back out to continue working on both chassis and setup options. Although he had a small crash in the afternoon, the 23 year old rider optimistically looks towards tomorrow as he intends to plug the gap to the leading time on his Yamaha YZR-M1.

On the other side of the Monster Yamaha Tech3 Team garage, Bradley Smith proceeded to battle onwards to post a top time of 2'01.098 on the 32nd lap out of 51 in Malaysia, despite still not being fully fit. Similarly to his teammate, his focus today was testing the two different chassis as well as additional general aspects of his 2015 specification Yamaha YZR-M1, with the overall feeling being positive and confidence boosting. His time left him in 9th position, yet satisfied with his progress after completing the productive work. The young British rider remains poised to continue his evaluation of the new Yamaha tomorrow and to lower his lap time further.

Pol Espargaro - Position : 7th Time : 2'00.959

"Today was a bit more challenging than yesterday as we were testing chassis plus new parts and there is no clear result on which one I prefer yet, but we are making good progress so I am happy. I tried to improve my lap this afternoon, but I wasn't able to, as it's not the best time to attempt a hot lap due to the track conditions. Anyway, I am not focused on making super fast times for the moment because I would rather concentrate on the bike setup and my riding style, which are progressing positively. I had a small crash this afternoon which was fortunately not damaging to me at all, nor to the bike too much, so I am happy to walk away from that unscathed. Nevertheless, tomorrow is another day and we have a lot more work to undertake which we need to do in the morning due to the temperature in the afternoon, but I look forward to getting back out on track after a good rest tonight. "

Bradley Smith - Position : 9th Time : 2'01.098

"Overall, I am pleased with the progress we have made on day two in Malaysia and I am happy to be back in the groove whilst working on some areas that I can evaluate here in Sepang. I'm at about 85% fitness due to my injured right ankle which I hurt in training, however I still managed to complete 103 laps over today and yesterday. I can't move around on the bike as much as I would like to due to the injury and right hand corners are a bit tricky, but I will heal and these are only small details and issues, which can be ironed out later. I'm evaluating the two different chassis at the moment and today I rode both and completed a similar distance. My lap times were close on either chassis, which is a very good sign, so I am certainly happy about what we achieved. Yet, now we need to continue working in order to decide which one has more potential for the upcoming season. There's still some work to do, but we are moving forward."

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